Snagged
by jazz4eva
Summary: Post Breaking Dawn. Renesmee & Jacob's daughter is given up at birth & has now been thrown into the mesmerising world of vampires & werewolves. What will she inherit from her mismatched parents? Find out inside! Rated T for some violence. Pls R&R!
1. TAKEN

**A/N: This story is written from Renesmees' daughters point of view - Isabella Joslin. She is kidnapped from her bed in Forks in the middle of the night and is taken to meet her real parents to discover the amazing and terrifying world of mythical creatures. Please read and review, even if it is bad! I love any sort of feed back coz I love to know what your reactions to my work!**

**ENJOY!!!**

I was trapped, like a pathetic lab rat locked in a cage waiting for the scientist's approach. The landscape outside the car windows was as dark as pitch. The face reflected back to me in the black glass wore an expression of pure terror; this was definitely not where I had been before I had fallen asleep. I hoped with all my might that this was a dream though I had just about ruled that one out; I had pinched myself so hard that I was sure I had, if not broken the skin, at least given myself a decent bruise.

I had no idea where I was or how I had gotten here. I was supposed to be at home in my safe, warm bed, not in the back of some strange car, tearing down the highway at two hundred kilometres an hour.

The guy driving the car – my kidnapper - was a stranger to me; I couldn't remember him from anywhere at present. My thoughts were in a scramble, wondering desperately what he would want with a normal, insignificant 16 year old girl. I hadn't done anything to him had I? I was innocent.

My stomach twisted, tying itself into knots and making me gag, last night's dinner threatening to make its way back up my throat. I wasn't sure if it was from fear or the speed. I wanted desperately to know why I was here, who he was and where he was taking me but I was too afraid to even breathe too loudly let alone speak. I wondered if he could hear my heart that was playing a drum role in my chest.

The drivers' massive hands were clenched into fists on the driving wheel, which looked in danger of snapping; he was huge, muscular in every way possible; his upper arms – which looked to be about the size of my neck, probably bigger – had hundreds of clearly defined muscles. His legs were the same. His hair, a dark brown or black, was cropped short on the sides but longer on top. The skin – stretched tight over his muscles – was very pale and looked strangely soft. In the green iridescent light of the clock on the dash board it seemed to glow. It made him look bizarre, somehow otherworldly. I looked into the rear view mirror to see his face and found him staring at me.

I looked away quickly, my breathing increasing to near hysteria and fought back another gag. I couldn't hear the drivers breathing and from the corner of my eye it didn't look as though he was breathing either – his chest wasn't rising and falling the way it should have been. His posture was rigid, back straight as a board and muscles tensed. I sneaked one more look into the rear view mirror. This time he was staring straight ahead. His face was beautiful with perfect features that temporarily had me mesmerised but that soon disappeared when I took in the expression etched into his skin. It was contorted into what looked like a mixture of darkest anger and deepest pain. I had never seen such an expression before and it sent a jolt of panic through my already stressed body.

I looked out of the windshield as a distraction from my way too active imagination. Up ahead there was a faint glow; city lights. I was just trying to figure out what town it could be when the driver spoke for the first time.

'Welcome to Phoenix, Arizona,' he said in strained yet somehow musical voice that didn't match his muscular appearance.

I was so stunned by his sudden spur of speech that the words didn't register for a moment, though when they did I surprised myself by making my own little outburst.

'What! How can we have travelled that far?' I spluttered and then fell silence, thinking about this rationally. I lived in Forks, WA and it was a four hour plane flight from there to here. Then I remembered the speed we had been travelling at all night and I didn't know how long I had been asleep for. I wondered erratically whether he was tired.

He kept quiet, slowing slightly, for the lights were nearing, getting brighter by the second. He still hadn't relaxed from his pose.

I decided that I would chance two more questions since he hadn't seemed too distressed by my little speech before.

'W-who a-are you and w-what do you w-w-want with me?' I had meant for it to a demand but my voice was shaking so it came out as more of a stuttered squeak of terror.

Again he was silent, slowing to an almost normal speed as we entered the city limits. The lights through the black tinted glass were blinding after so much darkness - I realized that he didn't have any head lights on. How could he have seen in the dark?

He finally answered my question.

'My name is Michael Hale and I am taking you to meet your parents.'

This derailed my train of thought. My parents lived in Forks, back the way we had come! I had no family here, well not that I was aware of anyway. They all lived in Italy, Scotland and Australia. My parents had come to America to live out their whacky dream.

'W-what? I-I'm sorry, but you have the wrong person. M-my parents live in Forks, Washington. They have done since before I was born.' He surprised me by smiling. This was even worse than his last expression for his smile revealed a straight row of brilliantly white teeth that had the same sort of glow as his skin in the lights.

'You are, as I presume, Isabella Joslin?'

I didn't answer. That was my name and there was no point in me trying to deny it – I was the worst of liars.

He seemed to take my silence as a conformation, for he nodded to himself and resumed his strained pose. I was sure that I could see the steering wheel bowing under his immense hands.

It was starting to get light on the unusual cloudy horizon and we still hadn't stopped. By now we had travelled through the city and out into the suburbs. The houses were bigger and more spread out, placed on large blocks of land with few trees.

We drove for about an hour through the country side that was mostly made up of grazing land where cows ranged around the small paddocks in search of the rare green stalks of grass. I was starting to get hungry and could really have used a bathroom but didn't feel capable of speaking again; the retching was becoming more frequent.

After what seemed like forever we turned left onto a dirt lane leading into one of the scare forest that called Phoenix home. The lane snaked through the under growth like a river twisting and turning, finding its way to the ocean. All was quiet except for my ragged breathing which had picked up again.

According to the clock it was 6:38am when we finally made it through the last of the trees. The clearing into which we entered was roughly the size of a football field with a beautiful house placed in the middle and a massive garden consisting of many tall shady trees, small shrubs and lots of brightly-coloured, flowering ground covers. The house was magnificent; it was three stories tall with walls and balconies poking out in peculiar places. The walls of the top and ground floor were white, rendered brick while the first floor looked to be made entirely out of honey coloured wood panels, well the parts of the walls that you could see; it had so many windows set into the walls, all of different sizes. Michael seemed to relax as soon as all of this came into view though his calm didn't last long.

On the front porch of the house was a welcoming crew consisting of five men and five women all but one bearing the same expression; loathing. One of the males in the front - the oldest – looked grave and disapproving but not angry. The entire group had pale skin, the shame shade and texture as Michaels and dark shadows set deep under their eyes. The one exception to this was a remarkably tall man, who looked to be around the age of twenty and was darkly tanned with black hair that reached down to just past his shoulders.

The man from the front of the group – the calm one who had wavy, blonde hair – descended the steps and seemed to glide rather than walk across the grass towards the car. Michael, not so sure of himself now, cut the engine and climbed out into the overcast morning.

As the blonde reached my kidnapper, Michael started spluttering at once. He seemed to be trying to explain but to me it was incoherent. The only word I caught was what I guessed to be the blondes' name – Carlisle.

Carlisle ceased his stutters by giving him an expression of grim betrayal. I didn't see or hear it happen but suddenly the group that had been on the porch were right behind Carlisle advancing slowly on the now cowering Michael. Only two lingered behind; the tall, tanned man and a woman around the age of eighteen with long bronze-coloured ringlets.

'What have you done? Didn't we clearly explain to you after you "over heard" our conversation that she was not yet ready to hear about her heritage?' inquired Carlisle strictly. Michael stuttered again and retreated to the back of the car. Carlisle paid him no mind and instead turned to address his party. 'Nessy, Jacob, Bella, Edward take our guest into the house and calm her down but do not explain anything to her until we are all gathered. I'll take Michael for a short walk; I need a few answers before we decide on anything. The rest of you please try and make yourselves useful and prepare something for Isabella to eat – she must be hungry.'

Everyone looked at me then, I tried to ignore them but was not completely successful. Instead I concentrated on how I had heard my name twice in Carlisles' instructions; the first time my nickname and the second my full name: I realized that one of the females must be named Bella. I also wondered how he had known my name. Like Michael I had never met him before.

The four that had been assigned to me came around to my side of the car. I did not scoot to the other side which was mainly because Carlisle and the others were still huddled there. The woman with the bronze ringlets bent down and smiled gently through the window at me. I did not move. I didn't feel as threatened as I had before but I was still uncomfortable with being around my 'family'. I wondered what sort of joke Michael was playing at bringing me here, taking me away from my real parents. I just wanted to go home.

The women straightened up and then slowly, very deliberately opened the door. This time I moved to the middle seat. She bent down again.

'Hi Isabella or do you prefer Bella?' I didn't answer though it was hard to be frightened of this person, what with her perfect appearance and her voice made of bells. 'I'm Renesmee and this is Bella,' she motioned to the other female with her; more a girl than a woman, around eighteen or nineteen with thick brown hair, 'Edward,' she motioned to a male nearer the back with untidy, bronze-coloured hair, 'and Jacob,' she finished with the man I had noticed before with the dark skin.

She touched my arm and I recoiled, shrinking further into the back seat; her touch had been much warmer than I had expected. She withdrew it and slid into the backseat with me, I slithered to the other side. She sighed.

'There is no need to be afraid of us. We won't hurt you. We just want you to be safe. Why don't you come inside and have something to eat?' I sat there for a minute expecting her to give up and walk away but I was wrong: she let me think and waited for an answer. I settled on walking to the porch and sitting there; there was a large comfy looking seat occupying a large amount of the porch.

'Fine but I'm sitting on the porch, not inside.' It surprised me that my voice was so strong - I was scared of these strangers and yet I was able to talk to them like I had known them for years.

She took this as an improvement and removed herself from the backseat so I was able to clamber out. My legs were like jelly after sitting down for so long and I fell into Renesmees' awaiting arms. I could feel my face and ears grow hot as she helped me to the house and up the stairs. She let go of me then for she could feel that I had had enough of her proximity. I lowered myself down onto the seat and the girl named Bella floated through the door and into the house. Like with all the others, I was blown away by her beauty: her brown hair was long reaching to the middle of her back, her heart-shaped face contained wide eyes with black irises, prominent cheek bones and lips where the top was a little too full to counteract the lower.

The man – Edward – sat down on the other end of the couch. He was lanky, less bulky than the others with black irises like Bella. He looked to be the youngest of the men. Renesmee sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulder and Edward patted her hair lightly.

By this time I was pretty desperate to use the bathroom and thinking about refreshments was not helping. Renesmee pointed me in the right direction though I didn't make it any further than the door step; I was too dazed by the beauty of the house.

The front door opened onto a large lounge room with honey coloured wooden floors, light gray green walls and a high ceiling holding an intricate, gold chandelier with crystals hanging from every stem of elaborately twisted metal. The room was filled with many large, soft looking lounge chairs, three of which were crowded around the biggest flat screen TV I'd ever seen. Spaced around the room were five large light-wooded doors. The door to the left of where I was standing was wide open and a lovely aroma of bacon was wafting through; this must be the kitchen. In the far right corner of the room was a lovely spiral staircase with a satin smooth rail the same colour as the floor boards. The walls pointing in the general directions of the sunrise and sunset were all glass giving a clear view of the yard outside which was now dark from the heavy clouds now drizzling rain and leaving small, muddy puddles in the grass.

I recovered from my trance and crossed the room to the third door from the right as instructed.

I returned to my post after visiting the ballroom sized bathroom and noticed an addition to the little group on the porch; Carlisle stood next to Edward conversing with him in whispers. I sat down as far away from them as possible.

I was just thinking about the bacon cooking in the kitchen when Bella emerged from the house accompanied by a short, thin, pixie like woman around nineteen with deep black hair cropped short and pointing in every direction and a tall, lean, muscular man with honey blonde hair. Bella boar a large plate holding bacon, scrambled eggs and toast which she handed to me along with a large glass of orange juice. She smiled and went to sit on the arm of the chair next to Edward who kissed her and moved her to his lap.

I ate my meal slowly, savouring the taste; my parents were vegetarian so I didn't get meat very often. As I finished the pixie like woman and the honey blonde man approached. I was about to cringe away from their advance when I suddenly felt strangely calm and forgot my intensions. I felt assured that these people weren't going to hurt me though that was the opposite of what I had been feeling a second ago.

The blonde sat down next to me and took my hand. His touch was cold as ice, like he had just taken his hand out of the freezer. I gasped but did not withdraw my hand. I felt sort of at ease from my problems with him here. I leaned my head against his chest - which felt like a rock - and he stroked my hair.

'It's going to be alright,' he soothed and in that moment I believed him.


	2. LEGENDS

LEGENDS

I must have dropped off to sleep because when I opened my eyes I was lying on one of the couches in the lounge room. The lights half blinded me and my head spun as I sat up and observed my surroundings. There were people everywhere, all sitting on the seats around mine. When they saw me stir Renesmee, Bella, Carlisle and the other blonde man came to stand beside me and again I felt that strange calm sweep through me, flushing all the unpleasant feelings from my body.

'Are you hungry?' Bella asked. It took a few seconds for her words to penetrate my brain which was still in a stupor.

'Um, no ... not yet,' I replied slowly my voice thick with sleep. I closed my eyes again and laid my head against the back of the chair hoping for more sleep that I knew wouldn't come. Someone sat down next to me but I didn't care who. I opened my eyes and looked out of the now black windows. I wondered how long I had been out for. I was the most interesting thing in the room; all eyes were on me except for Edwards who had his concentrated on the TV screen that was showing an update of tomorrows' weather. I was starting to get uncomfortable from all the eyes and decided that having a shower would be the best way to deprive myself of the attention.

'May I take a shower?' I asked my voice clearer now.

'Yes, of course, take as long as you like,' answered Carlisle, smiling kindly. I would take him up on his offer of 'taking as long as I liked'.

I re-entered the vast bathroom locking the door behind me. I was just about to start undressing when there was a knock. I turned, resigned, to answer it. Behind it was a small, slender woman with a beautiful face framed by soft, caramel-coloured hair. Draped across her arm was a white shirt and faded blue jeans.

'Hi, my names Esme. I'm carlisles wife. I just thought that you might want to get changed out of those clothes and into something a little more ...' She didn't finish the sentence though I knew what she meant; my pyjamas were old, baggy and full of holes. 'They may be a bit big but they will do until we find something more fitting.' She handed me the clothes which I draped over my own arm, thanked her and turned back to the bathroom as she closed the door behind me.

My shower was long and refreshing; it unknotted all my tensed muscles and gave me time to think through things more thoroughly. Though I still felt relatively calm and at ease with all these people I still wanted to go home and just pretend that this was all just a bad dream that could be locked away in the past and forgotten about. I freighted about how my parents would have reacted to my empty bed this morning, wondered if they had contacted the police and whether they were looking for me now. I didn't want them to worry; I wanted them to know I was safe and well, for the time being anyway.

I didn't much fancy being the centre of concentration again, so I dawdled in dressing and stopped to look at my pallid reflection in the mirror.

I wasn't very keen on the idea but I did sort of look like I was related to these strange people: my usually pale skin was even whiter than normal because of all the tension and fear, my deep brown eyes held dark, bruise-like circles beneath them; they were a common feature on my face for I didn't sleep much, and I was never enthusiastic to admit it but I was quite pretty - a lot prettier than most girls at my school, though I did my best to keep that aspect at a minimum; I hated any form of attention. I grabbed a brush that I spotted lying on the counter and started unknotting my now matted curly, black hair.

I couldn't delay it any further; I was presentable in my borrowed shirt and jeans and my detangled hair tied back in a severe ponytail. I had to face them sooner or later and if I lingered in here any longer they would come in to see whether I was still breathing and not drowning in the bottom of the bath.

I dragged myself to the door letting my hand pause on the handle before I heaved it open and stepped outside into the lounge room. I was surprised that when I trouped into the room no one paid me any of the attention that I was expecting; only Carlisle glanced in my direction as I sat down on a vacant couch.

'You had I nice shower, I presume?' questioned Carlisle, lounged on a chair with the lady that had given me the clothes and Michael, who was still looking slightly uneasy like he thought Carlisle might strike out at him at any moment. 'Isabella, we need to discuss some matters.' Carlisle straightened up as there was a shiver that ran around the room. I wondered what was going on. If we were going to discuss my going home then why would there be anxiety passing around the circle of people at Carlisles' words? The same went for discussing my supposed heritage. 'Michael has already told you that we are your family and that you will not hear a word of it, that your parents reside in Forks, Washington, where you have lived a happy life.' Here Carlisle gave Michael a meaningful sidelong glance.

'This is all quite understandable of course for this is all that you have known. I could of course deny all that Michael has said and take you home at once, but that would be wrong and inexcusable of me, for you of all people have a right to know.' I was the one starting to get uneasy and anxious now, all calm and peace forgotten. What more to the story was there than telling me that my real parents were allegedly in this room? 'Your real parents do not live in Forks with you. Joanne and Finn Joslin took you in when you were six months old. They were close friends of ours and we would do anything to help keep each other's live running. Renesmee and Jacob – your real biological mother and father – could not keep looking after you for fear of losing you or your getting hurt by our families' "issues,"' I looked incredulously at Renesmee and then Jacob, like an idiot, turning my head from side to side with my mouth slightly open. This was impossible. How could they be my parents? Renesmee looked no older than eighteen, twenty at the most and Jacob was the same and so if that were the case they would only a few years older than me! They all took in my sceptical expression as I continued to stare stupidly at Renesmee and Jacob.

The more I looked at them though the more similarities I could see between the two of them and me; Renesmees' long ringlets and Jacobs black hair, my pale skin was nothing next to Renesmees' snow white pallor but I could see where mine came from, I was rather tall, obviously nowhere near Jacobs height for no one could possibly be as tall as that but I still looked down on most people and Renesmees eyes were the exact same shape and shade of brown as mine. This was getting creepy. I could see myself in these two people but I didn't see how it was even plausible that I could be their child.

'I'm sorry, but how can this be? How can I be their daughter when they're barely older than I am?' My question came out a lot calmer than I felt; I was on the verge of collapsing, my head was spinning.

Carlisle looked uncomfortable, like I'd put him in the spotlight on stage in front of millions and asked him to sing. He looked around the room quickly before speaking. 'Yes … that is true. I was hoping that you wouldn't pick up on that so soon.' How could I not? 'You see our family issues are not what you are probably thinking. We don't have any violent delinquents or alcohol addicts in this family. It is quite a different situation, one so absurd to you that you will think I'm out of my mind.' He cleared his throat and ran his long pale fingers through his hair nervously. 'You see we also lived in Forks for quite a while before you were born; that's how we knew Joanne and Finn. There is a tribe down at the reservation at La Push beach – you may have heard of them – they are called the Quileute tribe and they hold the legend and stories that tell of what we are. Jacob – your _father_,' he accented the word, 'is part of this tribe so I think that Jacob would be the best to tell the story.' Jacob looked around startled to meet Carlisles' eyes before speaking.

'Well, there are lots of legends, some of them claiming to date back to the Flood – supposedly, the ancient Quileute's tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the ark. Another legend claims that the oldest native families of the reservation are descended from wolves – and that wolves are our brothers still. It's against tribal law to slay them.' His speech sounded rehearsed, like he had explained it many times before.

'Then there are the stories of the cold ones. The stories are as old as the wolf legends, and then there are some that are much more recent. According to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. He was the one who made the treaty to keep them off our land. My great-grandfather was a tribal elder, like my late father. You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf – well they aren't really wolves, they're shape shifters; people that can transform into wolf forms and back again. I am one of those people – we are most commonly called werewolves.

'So you see the cold ones are traditionally our enemies but the pack that came into our territory during my great-grandfathers time were different. They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did – they weren't supposed to be dangerous.' Everyone around the room smiled faintly at his words. 'So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they promised to stay off our land, we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces; the humans.

'There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they were civilized like this clan was.' I didn't understand it but Jacob stopped to smile at Carlisle like it was some sort of inside joke. 'You never know when they might get too thirsty to resist. They claimed that they didn't hunt humans and that they were somehow able to prey on animals instead.'

I was beginning to get confused. 'Excuse me, but how does this explain what Carlisle was talking about before? And how are you a werewolf? That's a mythical creature from a fairytales, a Harry Potter type creation.'

The whole room erupted into laughter that died out at once. All attention now focused on Jacob who was looking worried. He glanced in Edwards' direction who nodded once.

'Well, I'll show you but be warned it may be a bit shocking at first.' He then started convulsing wildly; tremors that started at his head and shook down his whole body until he looked about to fall apart from all the vibrations.

Then suddenly there was a loud ripping noise and instead of a shaking man standing across the room there was a gigantic black, shaggy wolf with large glinting black eyes staring straight at me.

I let out a long, piecing scream that I never consciously heard end for I fainted.


	3. MYTHS

MYTHS

When I awoke Carlisle was standing over me along with Renesmee and Jacob. As soon as my eyes were open Jacob backed away with his hands up; he must have realized that the angry expression on my face was aimed in his direction.

'How could you just do that to me with practically no warning at all?' my voice was weak and strained. Jacob looked down at his feet obviously feeling guilty which made me, in turn, feel a little ashamed. He had, after all, just proved what he was; he had answered my inquiry, perhaps a little more graphically than I had anticipated – hence the scream and unconsciousness – but all the same. This was gaining more dream-like qualities by the minute; I wanted badly to pinch myself again.

I attempted to sit up but a firm hand held me down: Carlisle. 'I wouldn't try that just yet; you have only just regained consciousness and sitting is not the best idea. How do you feel? That was quite a shock I'm sure but it was the only way to show you the truth and, I'm sorry to inform you however there is more to the story, though, which you do not have to hear if you wish not to; we would understand if you would rather go back to your foster parents. This is a lot to comprehend in a day.' He started to examine me; taking my pulse, – this time I didn't wince as his cold hand probed my wrist – temperature and shining a bright light into each of my eyes. I looked at him questioningly. 'No need to fret; I'm a qualified doctor and surgeon. Do you feel any dizziness or nausea?'

I shook my head slowly. This wasn't real, it couldn't be; werewolves only appeared in ghost stories, they were a myth as old as any other, no truth behind them, yet somehow I wanted to believe, I wanted it to be true; I'd always enjoyed listening to scary stories and day dreaming about mythical creatures and magic. I'd often dreamt about them when I was younger, wanted to see them in the flesh.

I pushed against Carlisles hand again and he obliged, helping me into a sitting position. There were only five people left in the lounge room by this time; Carlisle, Jacob, Renesmee, Edward and Bella. No one looked at me, instead all looked in different directions. Carlisle moved swiftly across the room to sit by Jacob and then placed a comforting hand on his arm. This made me feel miserable. How badly had I hurt Jacob? I didn't like causing anyone pain, even if they had started it.

I sat for another minute before my soft side took over and I too crossed the room to sit by Jacob and wrapped my arms around his waist. I started at his burning skin but ignored it; I figured that none of these people were the right temperature and I would just have to get used to it because I was staying until they had gotten out everything that they needed to tell me. Jacob seemed to take this as a sign and draped a long arm around my shoulders.

'So, you're not scared of me?' he asked, his voice suggesting that of a man of contentment.

'Obviously I was at first but, well, I've always sort of hoped that mythical creatures existed.' He let out a laugh that was more a bark and my body moved with him. Although I hardly knew him and he had just transformed into a gigantic wolf, it felt good, like he was family and wasn't a stranger anymore. At that moment he felt like my father and it made sense. I had always wondered why I had never inherited any genes from Joanne and Finn.

We sat for a few minutes before I spoke.

'I still don't see how all of this is related to Carlisle and everyone else, unless you can all turn into gigantic wolves but that still wouldn't explain how you're so young and can still, supposedly, be my parents,' I clarified looking up at Jacob who looked at Carlisle.

'No, it's just Jacob who can turn into a wolf but we are included in that legend too,' Carlisle said as he leaned round Jacob to meet my curious eyes.

'Were you? Where?' I was truly curious now, I wanted all of this to be true but it just felt like a dream that I could wake up from any moment and find myself still wrapped up in bed in Forks.

'Yes, we were in the legend. You may recall Jacob mentioning the cold ones, that there was a group that passed onto his great-grandfathers territory and that Jacobs great-grandfather did not fancy having them hunting in that area so he made the treaty.'

'Yeah, I remember that part but how – ?' I didn't get to finish my sentence before Carlisle spoke again.

'Well, we – Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, Edward and I – are the cold ones mentioned in the legend; we are the ones that forced Jacobs' great-grandfather to make the treaty by hunting on his land.' He scrutinized my face for a moment before looking away. This was not what I was expecting to hear. They had known Jacobs great-grandfather? Surely they had to be pulling my leg this time. And didn't that legend say that they had 'hunted on his land'?

'What? How can that be true? And what are the cold ones?' It was hard to compose my face back to a neutral expression for I was sure shocked disbelief was written all over it and I didn't want to hurt anyone else today if I could help it. But Carlisle still looked uncomfortable answering my question.

'Well, the cold ones are … well they're …' He seemed to be having difficulty getting the words out. He took a deep breath and started again. 'Please don't be frightened, but the cold ones – my family and I - are vampires, blood-suckers.'

I felt the strangest urge to laugh but stopped myself just in time; I was sure that laughing wouldn't go down too well. I looked at Carlisle to see if he was joking but his face was grave and his head was bent with shoulders slumped. He looked so vulnerable in this pose. Jacob looked equally gloomy.

I felt a pang of sympathy for Carlisle as this subject seemed to cause him grief but I wasn't about to believe him yet; like with the werewolf thing, I needed proof, I just wasn't sure how to go about asking for it.

Edward stood up on the other side of the room – I'd completely forgotten he was there – and crossed the distance between us in two graceful strides.

'I can see that you will not believe us without proof. That is easy to comprehend of course but what you must understand is that the tell tale signs you associate with vampires, – turning into bats, burning in the day light, sleeping in coffins, no reflections, etcetera – these are all myths. If it is proof you seek then it is proof you will get but not the proof you expect.' And with that he gave Jacob a look full of meaning and Jacob then untangled his arm from around me and instead picked me up as though I weighed nothing and carried me outside into the dawning day. The sun, just visible over the tree tops in the east, was a golden yellow and set long shadows across the lawn. Jacob set me down on the chair and then sat down beside me. Following Jacob was Edward, Carlisle, Bella and Renesmee. I felt another pang, guilt this time, as I realised that I hadn't yet accepted Renesmee as a parent by showing my affection. I got up, quickly ran to Renesmee and flung my arms around her neck. She laughed and guided me back to my seat and sat on my other side.

'Isabella, we will give you proof and it will be just as shocking as when Jacob showed his other side.' Edward spoke directly to me from the shadows cast from the over-hang of the roof. 'As I said before the sun does not hurt us but we can't go out in the sunlight in public and I will show you why.' He closed his eyes and stepped out into the patch of sun on the front of the porch.

I gasped before I could stop myself. Edward in the sunlight was shocking. His skin literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds had been embedded in his flesh. He was beautiful, like nothing I'd ever seen, even in my craziest, wildest dreams and my dreams could get pretty wild.

Edward turned to look at me seeming to expect me to have fainted or to have ran back inside screaming and the expression on his face plainly told all that it was a big surprise to him to see me still sitting on the couch wrapped in Jacob and Renesmees arms.

'You're beautiful,' I breathed.

'No, this is the skin of a killer and will be for all eternity,' he said with a face full of pain. Someone behind me sighed and I turned just in time to see Bella roll her black eyes.

'Edward, you're not a killer, you're just doing what you have to do to survive.' Bella walked over to Edward, into the sun – she too sparkled – and wrapped her arms around his neck. I looked away feeling like I was intruding on their privacy.

'That's not all that is different about real vampires and the ones that only exist in myths. We have extraordinary power; lightening speed.' I looked back to the spot where he had been standing a second ago only to find that he had disappeared. I looked around in alarm and found him standing on a lower branch in the nearest tree.' Tremendous strength.' He reached up to the branch above him, ripped it clean off the tree and threw it far into the forest bordering the yard. 'We don't sleep, we have exceptional eyesight and hearing and we are beautiful to humans, our intended prey.' I was speechless, stunned into silence. He was beautiful yet terrifying. I didn't know whether to trust him or to flee. I leaned into Renesmee for support and she tightened her arms around me in response.

'Dad, I think that will do, you're scaring her.' Renesmee voice was only a whisper though Edward seemed to hear; he jumped from the branch and was on the porch in less than a second.

'I am sorry, that was inappropriate of me and over the top but now you know why we had to give you up, so you could lead a normal life until you were ready for all of this – if you were ever ready for all of this. We were going to tell you as soon as you turned eighteen; it would have been a lot subtler than all of our demonstrations. Your foster parents would also have been there to keep you calm and to let you down easy on the 'being adopted' thing. Again I am terribly sorry.' Edward bowed his head and turned to go back inside. There were so many questions I had to ask but one in particular that couldn't wait.

'So you're my grandfather?' it seemed odd that this would be the first question to ask after a demonstration like that but I had picked up that Renesmee had called him 'Dad'.

He stopped in the doorway and turned on his heel to face me. 'Yes, that is correct.'

'How old are you?'

He groaned. 'I am seventeen.' He barely whispered it.

'But-but, that means you are only a year older than I am!' This was too confusing. He looked even younger than Renesmee! And yet he claimed to be her father.

'Ah, I see. I didn't explain that part of a vampires' existence. You see, once you are bitten by another vampire and the venom from the bite spreads turning you into one of them, you are trapped at that age, that appearance for all eternity. Once you are transformed you will never change, never grow old and wrinkled like you should.'

'Edward, please stop. This is what you are and will always be and I will always love you no matter what.' Bella crossed over to Edward and kissed his lips and this time Renesmee got up and put her arms around both of them so they were embraced in a group hug. Again I looked away from the intimate moment and to the tree that now had a large hole in its side.

'Come on, let's go for a walk.' I took Jacobs out stretched hand and he led me down the steps into the yard, under the scathed tree and over to a lonely bench sitting under an old maple surrounded by bright red Poppies. Renesmee soon joined us.


	4. INQUIRIES

INQUIERIES

'You must have so many questions. This is all a great shock for you, I'm sure, and hard to grasp; so much information in such a short measure of time,' said Renesmee, wrapping a warm arm around my shoulders and drawing me closer to her body. She was right, my head was swimming with millions of questions, the problem was trying to figure out which one to ask first.

'Jacob,' I started tentatively, 'how can you live here? You said yourself that the 'cold ones' were your tradition enemies.'

'Well, that was a long time ago, thirty years at least. Back then a large group of vampires and the werewolves were forced to unite to save your mother. You see word got around that she was an illegal creation, a devil child - an infant that is transformed and is unable to control their craving for blood, so they go around killing people for the sake of the thirst. Your mother is actually no such thing but the Volturi – sort of the governors of the vampire world – were determined to believe the unlikely and ever since then there has been a sort of bond between the Quileute's and the Cullen's; my family that live here,' he ended answering my questioning expression.

This was hard to follow. How many vampires were there in the world that they needed a government? Surely the rest of the vampires just went about their business, acting as humans?

'What are the Volturi exactly and what do they do?' I was trying hard to understand.

'Well as I said, they are a sort of government. The Volturi consist of many vampires but there are three main men that are over three thousand years old; Marcus, Aro and Caius who live in Voltura with their guard. Carlisle spent some time with them when he was first "born",' Jacob made quotation marks in the air with his fingers. 'The Volturi make sure that all vampires abide by the rules, well there's only one main rule really; keeping their existence a secret. If someone disobeys the rules too badly – revealing what they really are to a human – then the Volturi step in and the perpetrator is dealt with.' Jacobs's voice trailed off into thought.

'How are the perpetrators dealt with? Do they have a vampire jail or something?' I asked, truly curious now.

'Um … well … no, they don't have a jail,' apparently I'd asked the wrong question; Jacob was looking extremely uneasy. 'When a vampire steps out of line the Volturi seek them out and destroy them by ripping them apart and burning the pieces,' he finished quietly scrutinizing my face which I hoped was composed into a mask of serenity but that wasn't how I felt on the inside. They were destroyed if they revealed what they were to humans? Then wouldn't that mean, if the Volturi found out that I knew about their secret world, that it would result in my new family being destroyed?

'But I know what you are now! What happens if they find out about that?' I inquired, my voice shaking from shock.

'They won't find out and if they do your not quite human and you had to find out sooner or later; your our daughter, it would have been cruel to keep you in the dark all your life,' Jacob answered simply though I wasn't quite reassured but right then my mind was occupied with a suddenly more pressing situation. I was surprised that it hadn't occurred to me before.

'Hang on, if you're a vampire,' I gestured to Renesmee who opened her mouth to speak but I stopped her. 'Wait, just let me finish. So if you're a vampire and you're a werewolf, then… what does that make me?' My brain - working overtime – started up at full speed which made my head hurt.

Renesmee was first to speak. 'Well, first of all, what you must understand is that I'm not completely a vampire – I am still half human; my mother – Bella – conceived me when she was still human. I almost killed her when she was pregnant with me and then after I was born, that's when Edward transformed her. After a human body has been transformed it is not able to accommodate for child birth.'

'What? Hang on a minute. You're not even a real vampire?' I asked and she shook her beautiful head with a slightly amused expression on her face. I leaned back and stared out at the vast garden, my mind running over all the information I had been given in the last hour.

'You're taking this extremely well, better than any of us expected,' soothed Renesmee stroking my hair. Then another question popped to the front of my brain and I had to voice it.

'Do you drink blood?' I asked turning to face Renesmee.

'Yes, I do,' Renesmee seemed a little reluctant to reply looking away into the garden as she answered.

'You kill humans?' I asked wanting to know the truth.

'What!' she exclaimed turning around in alarm. 'No, we drink animal blood like the legend states. You won't be harmed around us,' but she loosened her grip on my shoulders all the same.

I felt abruptly sick and the gagging and retching returned though this time it more successful and I was about to run to the garden to empty the remaining contents of my stomach – which was mainly stomach acid since I hadn't had a chance to eat since yesterday morning – when Edward suddenly appeared in front of me holding a large plastic blue container under my chin which I threw up into, having not made it to the garden. Once my stomach was completely empty – of food and acid – Edward disappeared before my eyes only to reappear half a second later holding a glass of water which he set in my shaking hand.

'Thank you,' I croaked, my throat burned from its exposure to the acid and I gulped down the water quickly. 'How –' I started but Edward cut me off.

'I have the ability to read minds, sort of like extra hearing, a sixth sense,' he replied simply.

I cocked my head a little to the side and looked at him inquiringly and asked my next question in my head to test out this theory. _How does that work. Do you just kind of guess what people are thinking?_

'No, I don't guess. It's more like hearing that person talking aloud but their lips don't move. Sometimes it's like being in a large hall full of people with everyone talking at once,' he studied my face; my brain was running amuck and I wondered through the haze of my busy thoughts whether he could understand any of it.

'Not very easily, your thoughts are in a bit of a mess at the present moment,' this was getting annoying, what other thoughts of mine had he heard?

'I'm sorry, I do try to give my surrounding peers privacy though sometimes it is hard, especially when my name is called or an internal conflict is raging inside some mind that involves me or a family member. Then again, it's a sort of responsibility of mine to know peoples' reactions to us. I act as a lookout, for lack of a better word, for my family; to protect us. If anyone ever gets suspicious, I can give us early warning and an easy retreat. It happens occasionally – some human with an active imagination will see us and compare us to a character in a book or film. Usually they get it wrong, but it's better to move on somewhere new than risk scrutiny. Very, very rarely does someone guess right though we never give them a chance to test their hypothesis,' he seemed preoccupied as he was explaining, locking my brown eyes with his black ones and staring very intently into them as though he were deciphering a very difficult maths equation. I looked away into the distance blushing.

_Can anyone else read minds or is it just you?_ I thought, wondering how much more information I could take before I exploded.

'Ah, no, that's just me, though Alice – the short girl with black spiky hair – can see the future and her partner Jasper – the tall man with honey-blonde hair – can alter emotions; making people happy, sad, relaxed, angry,' Edward explained. That explained the calm I had been experiencing earlier. No wonder it had seemed out of place.

_How come it's just you who can read minds and … Alice that can see the future and how does that work exactly, seeing the future and altering people's emotions?_

'Well we don't know exactly how we got these special gifts. Carlisle reckons that since all our other abilities are enhanced he thinks that perhaps some of our emotions are made stronger when the transformation is made. Carlisle reckons I was good at 'reading people' so I got the ability to read minds and Alice had a knack for predicting outcome through information she was given so she is now able to see the future. Although her visions are subjective; they only show the outcome of a particular path that that person is on: you can always change your mind.'

'Oh, okay. So did Alice see me coming?' I asked looking up at Edward again.

'Yes, though by then it was too late; Michael had already left with Alice's porche; the fastest can we own.' Now I understood how we had been travelling so fast.

I felt my voice box had been used too much lately – I was usually very quiet – so again I asked the next question in my head. _Why do you need cars if you can run so fast you disappear and don't seem to get tired easily?_

'Well, what would that do to our concealment from the human world? If we just ran everywhere what would humans think if we just appeared in front of them? By using cars we try to blend into the community.'

_Yes, because a porche really blends into the background._

'We like to indulge every so often,' Edward said smiling.

_How many fast cars do you have? _My thoughts were astonished. How could they afford more than a porche, then I remembered the house and their long lifespan.

He hesitated before he answered. 'Ah … nine,' he finished, resigned.

'Holy crow!' I almost shouted, my silent moment forgotten. 'You own nine cars? Where do you keep them all?'

'We have quite a large garage behind the house ... We hate driving slow.'

I decided to overlook this but really, who needed nine cars?

'I've got another question,' I paused rephrasing the question in my head completely forgetting Edward though he didn't interrupt. 'If I'm partly a vampire and partly a werewolf then … why can't I transform into a gigantic furry dog,' Jacob chuckled quietly next to me, 'run so fast I disappear or am able to rip branches clean off trees?'

'That's a very interesting question though one I think we should discuss as a whole family with everyone,' he smiled though it was more of a grimace. Renesmee and Jacob stood up and I quickly mimicked their lead, following them back to the magnificent house, Edward trailing right behind me. Once inside the house I realised the bathroom would be a good idea and made a beeline for the door.


	5. UNIQUE

When I came out I found that I was the last to join the group; all the others having gathered while I was away. I took a seat in between Jacob and Renesmee. As I sat down Renesmee handed me a plate carrying a toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwich. The smell made my mouth water and my stomach rumbled angrily. I noticed Jacob boar the same token.

I looked around after the first bite waiting for someone to start talking, then I realised that they were, just amongst themselves – their voices were too low and fast for me to decipher anything but they seemed to be having an argument judging by their faces.

They all had their heads together and every so often someone glanced in my direction, Michael seemed to do this more than the others and I started to get uncomfortable but once again the calm swept over me; this time I knew where it came from.

'Is that really necessary?' I asked, directing my question at the man I assumed to be Jasper. He looked around in alarm.

'Oh … sorry,' he said quietly and I felt the calm leave my body as suddenly as it had come. 'I just didn't want you to worry before you had to.' Before I had to worry? Why did I have to worry? Jasper received a few glares when he turned back to the group and they resumed their mutterings.

It was about ten minutes before their discussion eased somewhat, losing its angry edge and another five before they all straightened, disappeared and reappeared, all sitting on different couches looking at me.

'Now, as you have asked Edward, you would like to know what is going to happen to you when you get older; whether you will gain vampiristic characteristics or wolf like symptoms. You have to understand that we do not know and so there will be quite alot of guessing since there are no other cases like yours to go by. Now that you what your parents are you can see how difficult this will be to solve. You are unique.' Carlisle seemed to be the only one capable of speech – everyone else seemed too shocked with their eyes wide but full of grief that appeared to for me. This made me scared. Was it really that bad? Or was it just because they didn't know anything?

'So you know already that you are part werewolf, part vampire but still part human?' he asked but did not stop to wait for an answer. 'There is also something else that has come to our attention. You know that vampires are venomous by now. Well, werewolves are deathly allergic to this venom. If any of our venom got into Jacobs body system through an accidental bite then it would work as a poison and shut down his systems, working in the same way as the venom from a deadly snake bite would. Although Renesmee is not venomous it may just skip a generation like some genes do and you could potentially poison yourself. There could of course be the possibility that you may not become anything of the sort and just stay the way you are now though those chances are unlikely. There is also the issue of growing; when a werewolf becomes of age they grow and mature from the age they are at to around the age of twenty in the course of a few weeks. As a vampire this is impossible – we are not capable of growing, we are fixed at the age we were transformed at forever, never changing. This will mean if you have a werewolf growth spurt if and when you turn into a vampire it could either be excruciating or even fatal,' explained Carlisle, looking at me with eyes full of regret and agony. I didn't want to hear anymore, this was just getting to be too much; it seemed that no matter what happened there could always be the off chance that it could be lethal. I really didn't want to be a part of this family anymore – I wanted to see the world, fall in love and breath until I was old, not die at sixteen because of accidentally poisoning myself or ripping myself to shreds because of a sudden growth spurt.

'Wait, just stop. This is too much,' I said and as soon as it was out of my mouth I felt that familiar calm sweep through me. This time relieved that it was present and I didn't have to suffer any longer. 'Thanks,' I whispered to Jasper and he smiled slightly in recognition.

'I know this is overwhelming but this time you must hear me out, you have no choice. You must know what might happen in the near future. I'm sorry but you must listen,' he added as I closed my eyes and attempted to drift into a stupor. I reluctantly opened my eyes, the calm helping me keep myself under control and instead rested my head on Renesmees' shoulder.

'I am sorry but you must listen to this, it's the possibilities to what might happen to you. You need to understand the dangers that lie not very far before you in your life. What you must also understand is that we will always be there for you, even if you choose to go back to Forks, we will follow. From this point forward we are your family and we will never leave your side again,' he declared leaning forwards and looking me straight in the eyes. I could hardly breathe – partly because of his staggering beauty but mainly for my future and what would happen to me. Would I go back to Forks to live with Joanne and Finn? Or would I stay here with my new found family?

'Additionally, there are a few more side effects of your maturing we need to discuss. Firstly, if you were to decide to stay here we would be able to keep a close eye on you through this process and do our best to help if the situation were to arise. If you were to move back to Forks then of course we would move too and visit regularly to check up on your health and to see how you are coping.

'Secondly, there is the slight problem of your foster parents, Joanne and Finn, not being aware of the vampire world which we would also wish to keep that way and your going back to Forks would make that very difficult.' Carlisle looked a little strained and ill at ease as he spoke.

'Um … would it be all right if I stayed here for the time being, just until everything gets sorted out?' I asked uneasily. I wanted to go back to Forks but at the same time I wanted to stay with these strange, beautiful people that now seemed just as much of a family as being with Joanne and Finn.

'Yes, of course. It will be much easier if you stay until everything has been discussed and organized, though finding you a bed to sleep in tonight could be a bit difficult unless you take Jacobs bed and he sleeps on one of the couches,' Carlisle mused and drifted off into thought.

'Oh, no, I'll sleep on the couch. I don't mind and besides, I don't think Jacob will fit on the couch,' I said smiling up at Jacobs tanned face which grinned back.

I spent the rest of the day walking around the garden with Renesmee and Jacob, filling them in on the important aspects of my life they had missed; me losing my first tooth, my imaginary friends, my first years at school etcetera. They were interested in anything that I told them, no matter how monotonous it was. Although I was happy around them and everything was jolly, I couldn't stop the thoughts that were raging through the back of my head; what was going to happen to me? What was I going to become?

I slept badly that night. My dreams kept me tossing and turning as I watched people I knew and loved get torn apart by monstrous beasts with beady red eyes and their blood drained by vicious vampires with long pointed fangs and black capes lined with red silk and the collars upturned. As I slept on the dream changed the terrible monsters morphed into a form that looked suspiciously like me. Although these monsters in my nightmares looked nothing like the ones I was staying with and since I was still currently human, I was cautious and eyed everyone's every move apprehensively the next day.

I awoke to a beautiful sunny morning with skies as blue as the ocean and not a cloud to be seen. I wasn't used to this sight for I had lived in the rainiest town in the continental US all my life so when I looked out of the large window at the end of the lounge I was ecstatic and temporarily forgot my restless night's sleep.

I looked around and found Edward in the corner of the room also observing the lovely weather though he wore a gloomy expression. My breath caught in my throat as I rediscovered his beauty.

_Why the long face? _I thought remembering his 'gift.'

He smiled and turned to face me. 'I was just thinking about how we would all have to go hunting soon. We haven't been able to satiate our thirst in over two weeks and it's getting almost unbearable.'

This made me recall the dreams of last night and I cringed involuntarily into the back of the couch.

'Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you. It just means that we'll go hunting in the forest. We won't hurt you, we're under control of our thirst and besides, you don't smell that much like a human: your scent is bizarre, sort of a cross between werewolf, human and vampire but not evenly divided, human scents coming out a little stronger,' he said another smile playing on his lips which vanished as soon as he started to speak again. 'I saw your dreams last night and I have to admit your subconscious can surely think up some graphic scenes; I can see why you're a bit nervous at the moment, being around me, but really there is nothing to worry about. You're completely safe here, probably safer here than anywhere else on earth come to think of it, being around nine and a half incredibly strong and invincible vampires and one werewolf, since you don't particularly appeal to us in the "meal" sense of things.'

'I don't really appreciate being called "half a vampire,"' said Renesmee as she glided into the room though her tone was light and teasing.

'Oh, my mistake Mrs Incredible. I didn't realize you offended so easily,' Edward mocked back looking amused. Renesmee kissed Edward on the cheek before crossing the room to sit by me. As she sat down though I moved over a little so I wasn't so close and in doing so received a puzzled expression from her. Edward answered her questioning stare with a simple response: 'Her dreams last night were quite disturbing.' And with that Renesmee seemed to understand for she moved over to the arm of the chair, away from me. I had been the first to create this space but a whole chair length of it wasn't what I had been counting on and so I compensated by sitting in the middle of the couch.

Renesmee smiled. 'So you had nightmares about us last night huh?' she posed. I replied with a small sheepish nod, embarrassed by what my subconscious had conjured up, made worse by the fact that Edward had also experienced it firsthand. Why did he have to have such an inconvenient gift?

'Like Edward said before: there's no need to be afraid of us, we're here to help you not hurt you.' She looked out of the sun filled window that I had just realized opened up onto a small rocky creek that was flowing softly under the shade of many tall trees. I was momentarily mesmerised by a large red maple leaf making its way quickly down the current, twisting and turning and swerving as rocks and pebbles disrupted the otherwise smooth surface of the water and preventing it from floating in the one direction for any prolonged period of time. I was instantly reminded of the previous day's discussion – about what would happen to me in the future – because, like the leaf, I too was floating down my own river, except that in my river there were massive rocks, tree trunks and deadly rapids all obscuring my sight into the future, leaving me clueless to what was coming next. I felt woozy at the thought of it and made an effort to push it from my mind.

Instead I focused on the smell issuing from the kitchen – I guessed at pancakes with syrup. Since I had been here they had treated me like a goddess with huge but delicious meals and special treatment I had never gotten back in Forks. I swore they were trying to fatten me up with the delectable double servings they'd been giving me for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sure enough Bella emerged from the kitchen five minutes later carrying a plate with four pancakes stacked high, golden syrup dripping lusciously down them and collecting in large brown pools on the expensive white china. She handed it over along with a large glass of milk which I sculled half of before starting on my banquet fit for the king. I only got half way before giving up and setting the last two soggy pancakes down on the coffee table at my feet.

'Thanks, but there's no need to give me so much to eat; I don't usually have a very big appetite,' I said looking at Bella.

'Oh. Sorry about that. I guess being around Jacob has taken its toll; he would usually have devoured that in about two minutes flat. I'm just so used to serving double portions and since I don't eat anymore I've forgotten how much a normal portion is.' She smiled and moved forward to take my half empty plate back to the kitchen.

'So, how is our guest this morning?' Carlisle drifted into the room followed by the lady that had given me the clothes – Esme I thought her name was.

'Fine,' I replied now a little nervous; Carlisle and Esme made four vampires and although somewhere in my brain I knew I was safe I couldn't help feeling the slightest bit apprehensive.

'She had some bad dreams last night and is still a little disturbed by them.' Edward spoke from the corner of the room watching Carlisles entry.

'Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. And judging by your expression the dreams involved us?' he asked stepping closer to the couch so he was about two metres away. 'How are you coping? Were they bad enough to make you want to go back to Forks?'

'No, they were just a little freaky, that's all. I've also got a question: do Joanne and Finn know where I am. I just don't want them to worry.' I looked up at Carlisle.

'Oh yes, Michael left a note in your place and since then we have also contacted them to explain,' he answered. I relaxed slightly though was still aware of every movement made in the room. Michael joined our group along with the Alice, Jasper and Jacob. As they entered I caught Michael gazing at me and felt suddenly self conscious – I hadn't had a shower in a while and I needed a new set of clothes for these ones were getting slightly on the nose.


	6. BURNING

**Hey guys! Sorry this chapter has been slow off the mark, but I've been kept busy with homework and exams. Please review my work and tell me what you think!**

**Thanks for sticking with me and enjoy!**

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BURNING

Once clean and refreshed with a new set of designer label clothes given generously by Alice, I returned to the now deserted living room. I looked around and on my second inspection found Michael sitting in the farthest corner of the room with a thick book open on his lap. He was skimming through the book so fast that at first I thought he was trying to find something but then I noticed how fast his eyes were moving. He looked up and caught my eye as I made my entrance into the lounge. As soon as he had my attention, he beckoned me to where he sat and patted the vacant cushion next to him – which I politely refused, and stood about a metre away, the dreams of last night still embedded in my memory. He frowned but continued with what he'd wanted to say.

'I'm really sorry I took you from your foster parents. It was wrong and I apologize. I can see you're happy here for the moment, but you love Joanne and Finn and I can see how much you worry about them – that makes me feel extremely guilty,' he said sadly bowing his head in shame.

'Um, okay, thanks ... You're forgiven.' I didn't know what to say. I felt sort of awkward around him since he had been the one to kidnap me unawares and then dump me in this place full of mythical creatures that had been, and basically still were, strangers to me. 'Um, where is everyone else?' I asked trying to relieve the tension and awkwardness that had grown between us.

'Oh, they've gone hunting. They'll all return around six o'clock tonight. I volunteered to keep an eye on you.'

'Aren't you "hungry" as well? Edward said that none of you had been able to hunt for over two weeks.' My stomach squirmed as I talked.

'I'll go when they come back. And anyway I can handle it,' he said looking up at me.

'So you're the only one here?'

'Yeah, is there a problem?'

'Um… No. But where's Jacob then? Werewolves don't need to drink blood do they?'

'No, they don't but Renesmee and Jacob formed this sort of ritual; that whenever everyone goes hunting ,Jacob goes too so he can help Nessy catch her prey since she not as fast as all the others,' he explained looking out of the window next to the chair.

'But Jacob can't be that fast either, can he? He's still only human when he's not a wolf isn't he?' I asked. Since when could humans travel at lightning speed like vampires? There was also something else in Michaels' explanation that had caught my attention: Nessy. I guessed this to be Renesmees' nickname but thought it a little strange to want to be called after the Loch Ness Monster.

'No, again, you're quite right – he is still human when he's not a wolf,' started Michael pulling me away from my thoughts, 'but then again when he does turn into a wolf he is just as fast as any vampire. And even when he's human he still has acute senses that are much better than any ordinary humans – better hearing, eyesight and he is much stronger and faster too.'

My mind was off in other places before he had finished speaking, thinking about what it would be like to run like a vampire, so fast you could disappear in a flash and to be able to hear any minute sound that goes on around you and also to be able to lift and rip almost anything you wanted.

I turned and walked over to the TV and tried to find the power button. I stood there for about a minute before Michael appeared and pressed a large round button in the middle of the speakers which I had taken to be the brands logo. Feeling stupid, I thanked him and went to sit on the couch directly in front of the Plasma. There was a kids program showing those odd Aussie blocks – The Wiggles. They had huge grins on their faces as they sang 'Mash Potato' while knocking their fists one on top of the other and doing a strange sort of jive. Michael handed me the remote and sat down on the other end of the chair.

I flicked through the channels until I found something remotely interesting: a documentary about endangered wildlife in Africa. As I watched the screen I had the weird sensation that I was being watched and the back of my neck began to prickle. I looked to my left, to where Michael sat motionless and, although, as I stared at him with his face turned to the Plasma I was sure I had seen him turn away. I swivelled back to the TV still watching Michael in my peripheral vision and sure enough I saw him looking at me with an awed expression on his face which was truly confounding. I didn't know what the admiration was for and my train of thought strayed from the TV and off along an extensive rattling track that I believed to run in circles all ending in the same conclusion: Did Michael have a crush on me?

I hoped desperately that this was not true and that it was just my brain running amuck as per usual. I tried to concentrate on the documentary but it was becoming increasingly hard, what with my active imagination and my awareness of the direction in which Michael's eyes were pointing. My cheeks began to grow warm but it didn't stop there – it ran down my neck and over my ears, on to my scalp and into my hair, down my chest and along my arms to my finger tips and all the way down to my toes. I began to panic – this had never happened before, I mean I always blushed like there was no tomorrow but it never travelled any further than my neck at the worst.

I held my palms out in front of me but there was no flush to be seen, just my pale, almost translucent skin wrapped around my shaking hands. This was weird. I could still feel the warmth tingling all over my body and if anything it was getting hotter.

I excused myself, receiving a confused glance from Michael, and rushed into the bathroom to observe my reflection in the mirror. My face was as pale as a sheet and held an expression that would show on anyone who had just seen a ghost – but there was definitely no trace of red on my face.

By this time the warmth had grown to such a temperature that it felt that I was standing in front of a blazing fire, almost in the fire. Little beads of sweat started to break out across my forehead as my expression changed from seeing a ghost to being held at gun point in a deserted alleyway.

I staggered back out into the lounge room and only just made it to the couch before I collapsed in a shivering, whimpering heap. It took Michael no time at all to race to my side, frantically trying to work out what was wrong but the only coherent answer he managed to get out of me was 'It hurts'.

It now felt like I was lying on red hot coals with my skin blistering and burning under the heat – the only things missing were the coals, blistering skin and the smell of burning flesh though they were easy to imagine when my eyes were shut, different scenes playing out on the back of my eyelids.

Michael rose from his crouch next to my quivering body and crossed the room to the door.

'I'm going to go and get Carlisle – he'll know what to do.' And with that he was gone and I was left to suffer alone. My body tried to reject the pain and every so often I was pulled into oblivion for who knows how long. This was good for I could be without my scorching body for minutes at a time.

After some time I heard voices next to me and I tried to stop my writhing, but failed dramatically by unintentionally sending my legs kicking into the air. Someone's cool hands grabbed and restrained them – the chill that accompanied their touched soothed my skin but only slightly. Another cool handed stroked my forehead brushing my sweaty hair from my face.

'The process has begun,' said a voice somewhere off to my left – I thought I recognised it as Carlisle's musical tone. 'Rosalie, please go and get me a towel from the closet.' There was a short pause and then I felt a towel dabbing gently at my sticky forehead. I made an effort to open my eyes and only just succeeded but there wasn't much point; the pain was so bad by now that it was clouding my vision and Carlisle, who was crouched beside me, was just a faint blur.

'What's happening to me?' I managed to choke out, my voice hoarse and croaky – ironically it sounded like my throat had been burnt.

'It looks to me as though you have begun your transformation from human to vampire,' said Carlisle softly continuing his dabbing of my forehead – it was oddly soothing, although I would rather feel his cool bare hand. I closed my eyes again. I faintly heard a click next to me and then a cold pressure on my chest – Carlisle must have had his doctors' bag and taken out a stethoscope. I wondered through the agony at what my heart would sound like at the moment – probably more a frantic whooshing than pounding.

There was a flurry of footsteps and then a hysterical voice sounded close to where Carlisle crouched. 'What's happened? Is she okay?' I noticed that Renesmee spoke and she sounded just as scared as I felt and I thought that was quite an achievement.

'She's going to be just fine though she will be in quite a lot of pain for a while. If only I had known this was going to happen a couple of hours ago then I could have saved her a lot of pain.' Carlisle answered, muttering the last bit to himself. Somewhere over to my right someone gave a nervous sort of cough.

'Oh Isabella, Isabella,' Renesmee whispered softly taking my hand.

The pain was now beyond excruciating as it peaked and still continued to rise, feeling as though I was being dipped into a pool of acid, having my limbs being torn viciously from my body, being run over by an army tank and thrown in to an incinerator all at the same time. It was terrifying and I was sure that my face conveyed an expression way past the point of horror.

I wanted to scream out to them all to kill me, to end this terrible pain that coursed through my veins but I caught myself just in time – screaming until the veins in my eyes burst would help no one. It was extremely hard but I somehow managed to keep my lips shut fast and my legs on the couch though my back still arched and my eyes were kept screwed shut as the inferno raged inside of me.

As the minutes passed I did not hear anyone stir, the only noise in the room coming from me as I drew shallow, ragged breaths that tore at my throat. I didn't think I would be able to bear this much longer. If possible the white hot flames licking at my insides were increasing slightly in intensity and soon, I thought, there wouldn't be any names left for the torture I was frightfully enduring.

Seconds or minutes, hours or days, months or years could have passed but I wouldn't have had a clue – I had lost track of time completely. I would gladly have died there and then but I didn't know how – I had already tried stopping my breathing but Jacob and Carlisle had raced to my side at once and attempted soothing me with calming words like 'not that much longer,' and 'you're doing very well, just keep it up just a little longer.' Of course I didn't believe them but what other choice did I have? They would just revive me if I attempted it again.

The only way I kept going was by counting the slow, steady breaths of Renesmee and using these as a way to tell how long had passed.

My head was pushed against the arm of the chair as I used this to shove against every time I felt the need to kick or scream – my feet were a couple of inches from the other end, well at least they had been: as I straightened my legs from where they had been creeping slowly up towards my body unnoticed they touched the other arm of the chair. This couldn't be right. I opened my eyes in shock but this didn't help for everything was still blurred and spun in tight circles until I lay back down. I bit into my arm so I didn't deafen everybody with the shriek that was building up in my lungs but found that this also was a bad idea: my teeth were like needles and pierced through my skin as though it was nothing more than sponge cake. This probably would have hurt a lot though in my current position the burning overpowered it to such a degree that I would have rather been bitten a million times than have to suffer this excruciating burning sensation any longer.

More time passed but again it had come to mean nothing. The only way I could tell that time had passed was that suddenly my head felt a lot roomier for lack of a better word, my feet were now hanging just over the end of the couch, every sound in the room was abruptly intensified, and I was about to open my eyes to prove my next theory when I thought better of it; I wouldn't risk the pain it would cause me and others with in a miles radius.

Instead I explored these new senses to try and take my mind off the pain – which I soon realized was impossible. There was so much space in my new head; I was able to ponder what lay in my near and distant future and remember the past, able to investigate the pain that occupied every inch of my body and remember what it was like to be without it. It was stunning that all of this could fit inside one head without exploding.

I could hear every sound in the room from the loud whirring of the fan to the low buzz of the lights set in the chandelier above my head and the soft swish of the air as it stirred whenever anyone moved. I also thought that I could hear the faint thump of music and the rumble of an engine grow louder and then fade: I could hear all the way to the road!

This was too overwhelming, with the pain and discovering sudden senses that hadn't been there hours ago – my new, improved brain was packed to the max with thoughts ranging from _I wonder how far away I can hear noises _to _when will the pain ever stop?_

More time passed as I continued to investigate the extent of my new found super senses. No one around me had spoken since Carlisle had first examined me, but now I could tell that everyone still stood around the room as I heard eleven people breathe steadily in and out in an almost perfect unison.

I was just about to try to choke out 'how much longer?' to Carlisle when the pain dominating my body began to change.

The good news was that the burn in my finger tips started to fade – slowly – but it was something other than the monotonous burn that had been charring my body for who knows how long.

The bad news was that while the pain in my finger tips and toes was fading the fire in my chest increased along with my heart beat that raced faster and faster. It was as if the blaze that faded from different parts of my body seeped into my chest making the inferno hotter and stronger. I didn't have a heart anymore; it was a blazing hot sun that continued to grow.

Along with the fire in my chest there was a new pain: my throat was still on fire, but I found that it had acquired a new sort of burn: thirst. Parched and dry as the Sahara Desert.

The fire in my arms, legs and head had now disappeared and retreated to my chest. I was now beyond the point of screaming, too stunned to do anything more than gasp and my eyes popped open like a goldfish. My back arched and my legs flailed, kicking out in dangerous directions and coming down hard on the arm of the chair which I heard quite clearly give a loud crack as the wood gave way under a blow from my foot.

Then, when all the fire had been absorbed by the blazing monster in my chest, my heart took off and I was surprised that I didn't hear my rips crack as it ground against them like the blades of a helicopter.

The fire was completely concentrated on my heart and it was all I could do not to slip into the blackness that I surely wouldn't come back out of. The blaze gave one last unbearable surge which my heart answered by giving a deep, hollow-sounding thud, stuttered, and then was no more.


	7. DEFINED

DEFINED

Only silence followed.

I lay there thinking that I must be dead for only heaven could feel like this – blissfully cool in the aftermath of all the agony. But then I heard a slow, faint fluttering start up in my chest. That couldn't be right. Surely I wasn't still alive after all that? Perhaps your heart started up again after you were admitted into heaven. Yes that was it.

Someone moved beside me and then a musical voice as quiet as the wind whispered close to my ear; maybe it was God coming to welcome me to his humble abode.

'Isabella,' it whispered. 'Isabella, open your eyes and look around you.' Somewhere distantly I remembered that voice but I could not recall the owner of it.

Carefully, I obeyed the instruction and opened my eyes, expecting to see myself standing in pearly white clouds or an extravagant castle made of brilliant flowers and a stranger standing next to me but instead I found myself lying exactly where I had been before, though through these eyes the scene was completely different.

Every person, object and colour had been sharpened and defined so that I could see everything in microscopic detail, from dust motes swirling in the sunlight streaming through the windows to individual strands of cotton that made up the stray piece of string on one of the couches standing ten yards away. It was simply amazing and I couldn't stop looking around me, whipping my head from side to side at extraordinary speed.

Then I spotted the people that crowded around me and some strange instincts sent me flying into the corner on the other side of the room, with my eyes narrowed and a low hiss breaking through my bared teeth. I surveyed the scene and saw everyone gathered in a tightly knit group for the first time and was distracted by the sight.

Everyone was so breath-takingly beautiful that I gasped and took an intake of breath for the first time since the pain had ceased. But the action felt wrong – there was no relief connected to it. My lungs reacted indifferently to the influx but although the air wasn't needed, I _liked_ it. It was full of all sorts of aromas – frangipani, freshly mowed grass, cinnamon, lavender and some I wrinkled my nose at like something that smelt suspiciously of wet dog.

And then the most beautiful, mouth watering smell reached my sensitive nose, a smell that ripped at my throat and made the fire course through my body, filling me with desire and longing. My muscles leapt into action and in no time I was in another crouch, searching for the source of the delectable aroma. My eyes fell on Renesmee and I realized exactly where the smell drifted from. Her beautiful brown eyes were wide, transfixed on my monstrous expression-her mouth open in a little O of shock.

As I watched from my frozen position, the scene changed – Renesmee was pushed roughly to the back of the room and Jacob, Edward, Emmett and Jasper took defensive stances at the front, hisses issuing from between their sharp teeth.

I straightened slowly from my crouch, giving them time to understand that I was under control of my thirst – for the time being; the burning in my throat was getting increasingly harder to ignore as her scent continued to torture me with every breath so I stopped my breathing completely – it helped to a great extent but the scent still lingered on the back of my tongue and the memory of the sweet aroma was still fresh in the front of my mind.

'Isabella? Are you all right?' I looked up to find Edward walking towards me, arms outstretched with palms facing me in a gesture that supposedly meant that he meant me no harm. The sight surprised me and I only just managed to suppress another gasp that surely would have sent me flying in the general direction of Renesmee; he was so beautiful it was almost painful to look. I slid down the wall to sit on the floor and wrapped my arms around my legs in an attempt to stop them charging at Renesmee. I was fighting a losing battle.

'Isabella? Are you alright?' Edward repeated crouching down beside me.

I looked into his eyes and was instantaneously mesmerized by their colour which was now as rich as honey opposed to the depressing black. I noticed too that the bruise like shadows beneath his eyes had also almost vanished.

_It hurts_ I thought desperately. Edward heard and gently took hold of my forearm and pulled me towards the door. I didn't resist as he guided me down the steps and across the lawn, heading towards a particularly dense clump of trees. Once we were engulfed by the sea of thick trunks of every brown imaginable Edward broke into a run that I immediately imitated. We flew about one hundred yards per second and as the cool forest air whipped at my face I thought it would finally be safe for me to breathe again. The relief was immediate; I could still clearly remember Renesmees scent but as the clean forest air washed through me, the memory was becoming fainter and fainter.

We ran for about ten minutes with only the sounds of the forest animals and soft thuds as our feet briefly made contact the leaf strewn ground for company. The sky, already cloudy, was turning an even more forbidding grey and I could hear little misty drops of rain hitting the canopy of leaves overhead.

'What are you looking for, Mexico?' I asked. We had now travelled so far from the house I was getting worried that we would never find it again.

'No,' he replied sounding amused. 'I'm looking for the best place for your first hunt.'

Oh no.

'I don't have a clue how to hunt!' I exclaimed.

'You don't now, but when you see your prey your instincts will just take over. Take what happened back at the house for example. Were you in control of your body then or did your body act on its own accord?' he asked looking around at me with a perfect eyebrow raised and still managed to avoid collisions with passing trees.

After a minute or so more, Edward started to slow, _almost_ to a normal pace but it felt way too slow; I liked the feel of the wind in my hair and to be able to breathe without feeling the need to go on a rampage.

Just then we stepped out into a clearing where, on the far side I could easily make out a herd of wild elk grazing happily on the dew soaked grass. I could hear them chewing on the crisp green blades that were so rare in these parts of America. I started to get extremely nervous and my little fluttering heart beat took off like a bird startled into flight. Edward looked astonished and just shook his head as if this was just one more thing about me that was inexplicable. We had a lot to discuss about my predicament when my more basic urges had been satisfied.

'Go ahead, take a whiff,' said Edward beside me.

I looked at him apprehensively and then inhaled deeply through my nose. The smell that met my nostrils made me wrinkle my nose in disgust, but then as the scent settled, my mouth started to water and my throat burned in longing for the blood that pumped through the veins of the innocent animal.

'Just let your instincts take over,' Edward instructed as he backed away into the shadow of a large maple tree growing on the outskirts of the meadow. 'Close your eyes and let the scent of the elk's blood fill you. Try to think of nothing else but how much you want that blood.'

I obediently closed my eyes and continued to breathe deeply through my nose. Then I was suddenly down in a crouch, my eyes snapped open and focused on the elk in front of me. I was propelled forwards towards the unsuspecting elk and brought one down to the ground before it had even seen me coming. The rest of them scattered after a few seconds when they finally realized that I was there and a potential danger to them.

But I hardly noticed. My teeth sank through the struggling animal's skin and muscle on its neck like it was nothing more than butter. I found the jugular and took long drags at the thick, warm blood. It soothed my throat as I continued to suck the life out of the animal that was caught in my iron grip.

After a few minutes the beast stopped its feeble attempts to free itself and slumped into my arms as I continued to drain its blood.

The last of the blood dribbled into my mouth but as soon as the flow stopped, the burning in my throat returned. I stood up taking in the sight of the remnants of the elk I had just killed. It was a horrible picture; the elk looked slightly deflated, its eyes were wide and glassy. There was also a large bloody bite mark on the animals' neck where my needle sharp teeth had bitten deep into its skin.

I heard three sets of footsteps advancing through the grass and turned to see that Edward had been joined by Carlisle and Jacob.

'I can't believe what I just did,' I sobbed. Jacob hurried forward and placed a comforting arm around my shoulders – the heat radiating from his body was astounding, like I was being hugged by a heater.

'It's alright,' he soothed ,but he had nowhere near the comforting ability of Jasper who was the one I really needed in this moment as anger started to build up in my system and boil the stagnant blood left in my veins. A shiver started to rock my body in all my rage. It started at my toes and travelled to the top of my head. A tingling that ran up my spine in a continuous cycle accompanied the shivers that were getting wilder by the second.

_Not again _I thought. _This can't be happening again_.

I was now out of control; my whole body shook madly and then suddenly an intense heat tore through me and there was a loud ripping noise.

I now stood on all fours; my clothes lay in tattered pieces beside me. I distinctly heard three gasps and then someone swore quietly beside me. I looked up to see that all three held the same expression – shock- though that was nothing compared to how I felt.

I looked out across the meadow and found that there was a long and incredibly hairy snout obscuring my vision whenever I looked down. I shouted out in surprise but all that issued from my mouth was a loud bark. I looked back up at Jacob and found that he was convulsing wildly and next second, after another loud rip, stood a humongous shaggy black wolf with large black eyes.

_It's OK, _came a thought wafting across the front of my concentration; a thought that I realized was not my own, though the voice sounded familiar.

_No it's not,_ I thought back in answer. I swivelled my head so I could look at my body and found that I now had a tail with long, curly black hair, the same that covered my body. I looked back around at Jacob for some guidance and another thought crossed my brain.

_Come with me, _it said and Jacob turned and trotted across to the other side if the clearing to where I could hear a small creek gurgling quietly.

I followed him through the dense trees to the small pebbly stream that flowed slowly from a spring. Jacob walked with the flow of the water down to where it made a small pool. The water was still and I could see every leaf of the trees above reflected in its clear surface.

Jacob let out a deep breath and I heard a sigh enter my mind. He turned his great shaggy head toward me and I saw that there was pity shown in his eyes.

_I was hoping you wouldn't have to experience this, _I heard him say in my mind. I wondered if I could read minds.

_Why?_ I thought. It couldn't be that bad except I didn't know how to change back to my human – well vampire – form.

_Well, the voices for one thing. _He looked back into the pool before continuing. _And you've been through enough to last you for eternity without this. _That was true.

I moved over to stand beside Jacob and looked down into the pool to observe my appearance. My face held a long snout, beady, blood red eyes and was completely covered in long, silky black curls. It gave my face a look that greatly resembled a giant monster that had just been to the hairdresser for a perm. I let out a laugh that sent loud barks echoing off the trees. I heard a flock of birds take flight in surprise squawking as they went. Jacob sent me a questioning look.

_What's so funny?_

_Have you seen what I look like?_

_Well yes actually. I see what you mean._ His mouth opened and his tongue lolled out in what I could only guess to be a grin but it disappeared quickly. _There are a few things you need to know first though, so you know how to avoid these transformations in the future. First of all the transformations can be triggered by immense anger; if you can keep your anger in check then the wolf in you will be kept at bay and you will keep quite a few more clothes in your wardrobe. _Jacob let another smile escape onto his shaggy features.

_Second, if you do happen to lose control and the wolf escapes from within, you must be completely calm before you can change back._

_That sounds pretty straight forward but then how come I'm still like this?_ I asked confused.

_Listen to your heart. Is it back to a normal, calm speed?_

I hadn't even noticed I had a pumping heart let alone that it was thumping faster than a normal tempo. I tried to concentrate on getting it back down to that normal rhythm then stopped, if I changed back now in front of Jacob then, well it wouldn't be pretty since my clothes lay in tattered shreds back in the clearing. Instead I changed the subject.

_So are there any other cool things about werewolves? _It was the best I could come up with but at the same time I wanted to know.

_Well there are a couple of things. For one, if we ever get hurt, the wound will heal itself a lot faster than a human. If it's a paper cut it will heal in around ten seconds. Would you like a demonstration?_

_Ah, no thanks. Wow. What would happen if I broke my leg?_

_That would take a little longer though only up to around an hour or two._

Wow, that was unexpected.

_I don't suppose there's anything else?_

_No, they're the main things though we can run just as fast as vampires and are just as strong, and can hear and see as well as them too._

Jacob turned and started back to the clearing whilst I took one last look into the water's surface. I only just managed to suppress and another bout of laughter as I took in the hilarious sight before, I too, turned and made my way back to the meadow where Edward, Carlisle and Jacob waited patiently for my return.

As my figure came into view, Carlisle rushed over to where I stood and scratched my ears. I could see why dogs liked it so much; it was oddly relaxing.

'You all right?' he asked and I nodded my great, black head before we all headed back into the forest at full speed, back to the house.


	8. TEMPTATIONS

TEMPTATIONS

The journey back to the house was intriguing as I discovered the traits of the wolf body. It seemed like second nature to walk on all fours even though I had only just discovered I had them. I found that everything was just as clearly defined as it was when I was a vampire even though dogs were supposed to be colour blind.

The iron-grey clouds were sending down a drizzle that was quite refreshing as the little drops landed on my nose, sank through my fur and settled on my skin. All the while Jacobs ' thoughts ran through my head like the gush of water flowing swiftly down a river, intruding on my privacy, though I didn't mind; it wasn't his fault he kept having internal arguments that he couldn't block me out of. This particular argument involved me and how he desperately wished I didn't have to experience this along with everything else.

_I don't mind, _I thought, trying to relieve Jacob of his internal conflict.

_You don't now, but just you wait until next time when you lose control of your anger and you turn into a wolf. _He said. He was preoccupied with his memories then, remembering times he had lost his temper and had almost killed Renesmee. He had been murderously furious at her because he thought Bella had died when she, Renesmee, was born. I watched as I saw Jacobs's memory fill my mind with pictures of a little baby with bronze ringlets being held in the air by Rosalie and him wanting so badly to rip that little baby to shreds and then, the next moment, it was as if the only thing he cared about was keeping that little baby alive.

Another memory replaced this. This time he was standing in a dirt lane, surrounded by forest with four, immensely tall and muscled boys all with cropped black hair and brown tanned skin and what I guessed to be the human Bella. Bella was half hidden behind Jacob, as a boy – Jacob called him Paul – raged about how he, Jacob, had exposed his werewolf self to Bella. As I watched, that boy started convulsing and before long there was a silver wolf five times Paul's size crouching, ready to spring. This triggered a protective instinct and Jacob leapt at him, transforming in mid air. Jacob met the other wolf and their snarls echoed off the trees. They backed into the forest snapping at each other. Then the memory stopped.

_Sorry, _he thought. _You've got enough to worry about without my thoughts on top of it all._

_How many other wolves are there? _I thought.

_There are now around twenty of us, _he said thoughtfully showing me glimpses of people as he thought of them.

_How come I can't hear them then? _I asked. We were now almost back to the house. I could hear Bella and Alice having a conversation about how Bella never took any pride in what she wore. Alice sounded exasperated as Bella laughed.

_Probably at Alice's expression, _thought Jacob. _She's very involved in her fashion. She would dress the entire neighbourhood every morning if she could. Instead she makes do with what she's got which means we have a fresh set of designer clothes laid out on our bed every morning – she never lets us wear the same thing twice. The op shops get a good trade from our family._

Edward laughed beside us and he turned to retell Jacobs' comments to Carlisle.

_The reason you can't hear them is because I'm not their Alpha, they aren't part of my pack. Well, actually, that isn't true. My pack consists of two, now three wolves. You and I and another girl named Leah, though she gave up on her life as a wolf years ago. There was also another boy, Seth. He joined me when the other Alpha and I got into an argument and I ran away but he's gone back now, on my orders._

We entered the yard then and we had a clear view of the sky. It was almost black and distant rumbles of thunder could be heard every now and then. The storm sounded like we were near a beach with the breaking of the waves in the distance. The rain started down more heavily, so rare in Phoenix, so we quickly made our way onto the porch where I shook the water from my fur in true dog fashion, showering everyone close by with a downpour of cold droplets.

I followed Edward into the house and looked around for Renesmee, only to find that she was absent. Alice and Bella were still holding their conversation sitting on a couch in the far corner. Jasper and the man I believed to be Emmett were playing the largest chess game I had ever seen; it seemed to consist of about six chess sets while Michael refereed from the side lines. Esme kept to herself as she operated a program on the computer that I saw said it was a house designing program in the title bar. She appeared to be designing a small, self-contained unit. And Rosalie sat in solitary on the couch in front of the TV, flicking through the channels so fast but I could still see what each channel contained. Nothing caught my interest.

As we entered, every eye in the room looked up, then there was a flurry of movement and I was encircled by my astounded family – everyone talking at once.

'Quiet,' Carlisle ordered softly but only half of the talk died away; I could still hear everyone in the room talking at once though there was something not quite right – no one's lips even twitched. Carlisle seemed oblivious to this chattering and continued. 'I do not know how or why this happened but I'm sure Isabella would like some clothes so she can change back.' Carlisle looked at me – I was almost eye to eye with him – and smiled gently.

'Alice and Bella, please take Isabella upstairs so she can change,' Carlisle continued ,as Bella and Alice moved forward and beckoned me up the spiral staircase to the upper floors and the confused dialogue was muffled but I could still hear every word and it all seemed to concern me. Alice and Bella looked like they had both been hit in the face and were dazed and disoriented. They kept shooting confused and concerned glances in my direction which made me uncomfortable.

The first floor was home to a long corridor that branched off to the left behind me. The right side was almost completely glass and looked down to the creek through the trees. On my left there were two doors and in front was another door that stood open and a balcony could clearly be seen. Alice led me back to another staircase to the third floor where she directed me into the first door on the left.

The room was massive. It held a king size bed with an elaborate mahogany headboard and matching bedside tables. A chandelier drooped from the ceiling with multi-coloured beads falling from each candle shaped light setting colours bounding off the walls and making the room look more like a night club. At the end of the room were more vast windows and to the side stood a door that was slightly ajar.

It was this door that Alice breezed over to with me close on her heals. Behind this door, a bathroom was revealed. A long freestanding wall divided the bathroom from a huge walk-in wardrobe.

Alice rushed into the wardrobe that was jam packed and over flowing with clothes for all occasions. I hoped she would pick out something reasonable and not the silk cocktail dress that I saw her pull out and seemed to consider before she replaced it.

Bella waited with me while Alice rifled through her whole stock of clothes. It was ten minutes before she emerged with a sensible looking scarlet, knit jumper and a pair of cu-off embroidered jeans. I took hold of the clothes in my mouth and waited for Alice and Bella to leave before I attempted my transformation.

My heart was slow and steady, so I tried concentrating on turning back into a vampire. It worked a treat and within seconds my fur was shooting back into my skin and I was standing back on two feet. It wasn't painful at all. I grabbed my clothes and hastily put them on. I felt my hair; it was windswept and knotty. I seized the brush on the basin and looked into the mirror. I was paralysed with shock at my reflection.

I was so beautiful that I almost staggered back in surprise. The only flaws were my eyes that were such an evil, bloody red that they put my scarlet jumper to shame. My hair was still long and curly and even though it was tatty and windswept it had a certain shine to it that made it look placed and purposeful rather than just a ragged haystack. My skin was as pale as snow; I could have been the next Snow White. I also noticed that I had grown a few inches whilst undergoing my transformation.

I heard Alice give an impatient sigh and say 'hurry up' quite loudly and rudely. It seemed out of place for Alice to say something like that when she gave out the impression of being so nice and friendly.

I quickly ran the brush through my hair and went to meet Alice and Bella out in the bedroom. Alice smiled at me and I heard her say 'About time,' but her lips didn't move; they were still composed into that perfect smile. Strange.

'Ready?' she asked. This time her lips moved.

'For what?' I asked perplexed.

'Ah … Nothing,' she said quickly, shooting a sideways glance at Bella.

We breezed downstairs in no more than one second but Bella and Alice stopped me at the bottom step, grabbing my arms and moving me to one side.

'What's going on?' I demanded, easily wriggling free of their grasps and took a few steps away from them as if they were poisonous snakes.

I heard movement behind me and I turned to see Michael and Edward advancing towards me.

_Come on. Make this easy for us,_ came Michael's voice intruding on my thoughts. His lips didn't move. How could that be? I wasn't a wolf at the present moment, and even if I was, I wouldn't be able to decipher his thoughts.

I ignored this and concentrated on what he had said – what was I making hard for them?

They continued forwards until I was surrounded.

'Isabella, we are going to restrain you, okay?' Edward spoke from beside me, grabbing hold of my arm.

'What's going on?' I repeated.

'We are going to see what will happen when Renesmee enters the room.' Now I understood, but I somehow doubted they could restrain me if I wanted to get at Renesmee. I ceased my struggling all the same while my heart fluttered faster in my chest.

Now that I was on full alert mode, I could hear Renesmee moving around outside, her heart going a fair bit faster than my own.

'Ready?' Edward asked me. I nodded nervously. 'Alright, Nessy, come in, slowly.'

The group in front of me parted so I had a clear view of the front door. Renesmee peered around the door frame and I studied her appearance for the first time through these eyes. She was beautiful beyond belief just like the rest of her family. The permanent roses blossoming on her cheeks were beautifully contrasted with her pale features and bronze ringlets that shone in the faint light filtering through the door.

'Breathe in slowly. We're ready if it's too much for you,' Carlisle instructed from somewhere near my elbow. I hadn't realized he was there. I didn't want to obey but I felt I had no other choice; if I didn't prove myself strong enough to be around Renesmee than I would have to leave, or not breathe in her presence again.

I inhaled, slowly at first and then, when Renesmees' scent struck home, the air whistled down my throat greedily and the hands on my arms tightened. But then the scent settled – it didn't smell nearly as appealing as it had before. Yes, there still was the hint of the almost human blood that ran through her veins but when it mingled with the smell of her vampire skin, she didn't smell appetising at all, really. Almost the same as my skin smelt to me, I realised. Just another lovely smell that added to the air already overwhelmed with beautiful aromas.

'It's alright,' said Alice matter-of-factly. 'She's in control.'


	9. GIFTS

**Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with me! I would just like to say that I have enabled Anonymous reviews for those that do not have an account. I would really apprieciate it if you would review. Even if it's just a Good... or bad.**

**Ok, I'll let you get on with reading my story. Enjoy!**

**17/08/09 - Just a quick word from me. To all those who have read this chapter recently will have discovered (like my friend did yesterday, so I was only informed of this error this morning) that this chapter was exactly the same as chapter four. I am sorry for this mistake and hope you will forgive me for being an idiot in not realising it sooner. SORRY!!!!**

GIFTS

It was a great relief to feel the hands restraining me disappear; one of the many instincts inside me was not very keen on being surrounded and defenceless – I felt vulnerable. Renesmee let out a deep breath, looking relieved. I had the urge to run over and hug her but forced that thought to the back of my mind; best not to push myself too far. I instead busied myself by seeing how far my hearing could go, and I had gotten out to the road when Edward called me over to where he sat in front of the TV, on the couch that now nursed a broken arm which was no doubt caused by a kick from my foot during my change.

'I've been noticing that you've been receiving a few thoughts from other people,' he said. Now I thought about it, I could still hear some thoughts floating around the room.

'Um, yes. It happened first with Alice, straight after I changed back.' I didn't bother to elaborate.

'And then with Michael?' he said in a tone that implied he already knew the answer. 'I see.'

'Ah … what do you "see" exactly?'

'Well it looks to me that you have inherited my gift for reading minds or you have brought that gift back with you after you changed back from your wolf form.'

'I can read minds?' I asked.

'It looks to be that way. Though you only seem to be getting the occasional glimpse into others minds, not every thought.' His face turned thoughtful then. 'See if you can hear what I'm thinking now – just a little experiment.'

I didn't have a clue how – the other thoughts had just popped into my mind without me trying.

'Concentrate,' he said.

I focused on the middle of his forehead and was immediately distracted by the texture of his skin – it was so smooth. The whole family was inhumanly beautiful – I kept finding myself mesmerised by them all.

_Concentrate, _he said – his lips didn't move.

I blinked in astonishment, as did Edward.

'It seems that you can hear thoughts that are directed at you.'

_She's taking all of this so well _I heard Carlisle say fondly through the other frivolous voices filling the room.

'Take that for example. You heard that but you can't seem to hear any other thoughts. Interesting. Hmm. Concentrate on Emmett over there,' he said nodding towards the guy I had seen playing the chess game. 'See if you can hear his thoughts since they aren't directed at you personally.'

I looked over to where Emmett stood on the other side of the room only to find him looking at me.

_Why are they both staring at me? _A gruff, yet musical voice that I guessed to be Emmett's thoughts came to me.

'Well, that was an improvement,' Edward said nodding. 'That thought wasn't directed at you completely. It was directed at us both. Okay, concentrate back on my thoughts.'

I looked back at his forehead and tried not to get distracted by his skin again.

_I've really got to put a deposit on that house before someone else buys it. _Edwards voice entered my thoughts but only after focusing intently for a minute or so.

Edward looked astonished again. 'So it seems that unless you are completely focused on that one person you can't "_hear_" them,' Edward said thoughtfully.

I was too stunned to do more than stare into oblivion, yet I still saw everything.

'Ah, Isabella?' I looked around at the sound of my name. 'Could we have a little chat?' Carlisle spoke from behind me with Renesmee and Jacob hovering nervously at his elbow.

'Um, sure,' I said and got up to follow Carlisle. So did Edward.

Carlisle led the way through a door at the far end of the living room. Inside was a massive dining room, the walls were almost all glass. Set in the middle was an enormous rectangular mahogany dining table with twelve chairs sitting around it. The highly polished surface of the table reflected every exposed beam on the roof and the small lights set in to the rafters.

Carlisle sat down at the end of the table, clasping his hands together in front of him on the polished surface. I hastily followed suit, sitting beside Jacob (the heat radiating off him was overpowering) and Edward, not yet trusting myself to sit alongside Renesmee.

'You must be overwhelmed by the day's course of events,' Carlisle started. 'And you must have so many questions. First a vampire, which in itself is confusing enough, but then, suddenly, having to figure out a completely new body on top of it all.' _Poor girl, _I heard him add in his thoughts.

'Ah, yes. I have quite a few questions,' I said. The day's events were suddenly starting to catch up on me and my head started to spin faintly. 'Why do I have a beating heart?' I asked, but I thought I could predict his answer.

'Because you are still partly human; Renesmee is half human and werewolves are still partly human too,' answered Carlisle, confirming my hypothesis.

'Why do I have red eyes? No one else does.' I stared down at my reflection in the table and just managed not to gasp; I was still not used to the sight of my face.

'You have red eyes because of all the human blood that runs through your veins, though I don't think they should stay that red forever. Once you get "older," and keep drinking the animal blood it should soften or even fade to this golden brown eventually,' he said pointing to his own eye. 'But like mostly everything else with your case, we don't know exactly. Renesmee had brown eyes from the moment she was born so even that trait doesn't seem to have emerged in you.'

'Do you know why I transformed into a vampire straight after I arrived here?'

'I can guess … I think that you transformed _because_ you came here, _because_ of _us_,' he said and he received not only my confused look but those of everyone else around the table; apparently he had not shared his thoughts with his family. 'Well,' he said looking at every face in turn, 'think about it. Teenagers down in the Quileute reservation with the wolf gene transform when there are vampires around so they can protect the village. Doesn't it make sense that that was why Isabella, here, transformed?'

Everyone seemed to be deep in thought as they stared out of the windows and at their puzzled reflection in the polished mahogany. The rain was clearing up and patches of sky that was a forget-me-not blue could be seen through the grey clouds.

'It would make sense in a strange sort of way,' Edward said, still staring out into the forest.

'So … if Michael hadn't brought her here, none of this would have happened?' Jacob asked.

'Well yes, I suppose so,' Carlisle answered, 'although we have no way of knowing what would have happened eventually.'

Jacob made an angry noise in his throat. 'I'm going to _kill_ him,' he growled, making to stand up but Edward reached over me and forced him into his seat. I thought I heard one of the chair legs give a little _crack _as Jacob weight was doubled for a moment.

'Not now,' Edward said quietly.

'Argh! Why did you have to bring Michael into this family? Why couldn't you have just let him go? Ever since he's arrived, he's just been a nuisance,' Jacob said forcefully and making a movement that looked like he had been about to thump the table but thought better of it.

'He was just trying to help,' Carlisle said gently but his eyes were troubled and his mouth was set in a worried line as though he could predict that this was going to get ugly very soon.

'How has _this_ helped?' he said, gesturing wildly in my direction.

'Jacob, it's okay. It's not so bad…' _really,_ I added in my head. He didn't need to hear that. Jacob shot me an exasperated look and slumped in his chair and crossed his arms, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed, the corners of his mouth turned down in an angry frown—he greatly resembled a child that had just been told by his mother that he couldn't have any sweets.

'Jacob,' said Carlisle. He looked worn and tired. 'Did you really expect me to just leave him to die?'

'Well, he hasn't been much help to us here, has he?' said Jacob fiercely.

'Jacob, please.' Carlisle stood up and grabbed Jacob's arm as he made to leave again. Jacob flinched away from his cold touch. Outside I heard a dry sob, the front door slam and hurried footsteps retreat down the stairs: Michael had heard our conversation – of course. Carlisle shot an exasperated glance in Jacob's direction, said 'We'll continue this conversation later,' and then floated from the room to follow Michael.

Nobody spoke for a while after that. Jacob was still fuming, his breathing heavy and uneven. Renesmee had taken the seat beside him and was now rubbing his back and kept muttering soothing words under her breath.

I sat stock still in my seat staring out into the forest, to the creek, thinking about the interesting conversation that had just been held, and the surprising turn it had suddenly taken. I laid my head upon the table. I felt dazed and disorientated from the day's events but strangely not tired. It felt like it should be night but the sun had only just reached the middle of the sky.

I looked up as Jacob left the room looking sulky and bad tempered. His expression hadn't changed one bit. Edward sighed and followed in his wake. To talk some sense in to him, I supposed. Renesmee and I were now alone, only one seat separated us. Her scent made my throat burn but I felt no attraction linked to the aroma, no sudden urges that set me into a crouch ready to spring. Renesmee got up too and held out a hand for me to take.

'Come on, let's go for a walk.'

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17/08/09 - Just a little comment from me. I am sorry to all those who have read this chapter, and, like my friend (who told me this morning about my mistake) discovered that this chapter was exactly the same as chapter four. I am truely sorry for this error and hope you do not all think me too much of an idiot. I just wish I had discovered this earlier. Sorry!

* * *


	10. ANSWERS

**Hey guys! Sorry I've been a bit slow on updating but term 3 at school has just started and they're really laying the homework and assignments on. I've also just found out that my flute exam is in a month, so that doesn't leave me much time for writing. But I'm trying! Just stick with me! :)**

ANSWERS

We ambled slowly over to where the forest skirted the yard. The clouds in the forget-me-not blue sky had temporarily floated across the sun, casting the yard into shadow.

'Sorry you had to witness that. Jacob has not taken to Michael very well. Though I can see where Jacob is coming from – it was inexcusable for Michael to bring you here after we strictly told him that you weren't to be told until you were older.' She stopped and looked out over the yard. It was easier to ignore her scent in the open air where the smells of the forest, grass, flowers and dirt mixed in the atmosphere.

'You mean Michael hasn't been here the whole time?' I asked.

'No, Michael is new to this life and is still a bit spontaneous, as you can tell – acts on pure whims, just like most Newborns.'

'How did Michael become a vampire? Do you know who transformed him?'I asked after a short pause.

'Oh, yes. Carlisle found him after a hit-and-run when he was making his way home from work at the hospital,' she replied. 'Michael was in a terrible state: heavily concussed with a fractured skull, and just about every other bone in his body broken, and bleeding everywhere.'

I gasped. 'How did Carlisle resist?'

'Carlisle has taught himself to become immune to the smell of human blood. Now he is one of the most prized doctors and surgeons in the country. Anyway, as I was saying, Carlisle discovered Michael in a devastating state. He was barely alive and the hospital was miles away, so he did the only thing he could think of; he transformed him and brought him back here to live with us. Jacob still hasn't forgiven him for it.'

'Did Carlisle transform everyone?' I asked curiously.

'Not all, but most. My father was the first to join him,' she said with a faraway look that suggested her mind was elsewhere. 'He was a patient at the hospital Carlisle had been working at back in Chicago in 1918. Dad was dying of Spanish Influenza. His mother had died just a day before and her dying wish was for Carlisle to do everything he could to keep him alive. So Carlisle transferred him to the morgue: nobody would notice his limp and dying form among so many dead – and then, when Carlisle's shift had finished, he came back for Edward, took him home and transformed him.

'Carlisle then transformed Esme – now his wife – in 1921. She had just lost her first child and was feeling so desolate that she jumped off a cliff and broke just about every bone in her body. Carlisle came across her and transformed her just as she was about to die.'

'So, Carlisle only transforms those on verge of death?' I asked, looking up into her brown eyed, rosy cheeked face.

'Yes, he would never put that life upon anyone who had a choice.' She looked over to meet my gaze.

'When was Carlisle transformed?'

'Hmm, I'll start from the beginning. Carlisle was born in London back in the seventeenth century. There were many superstitions back then about vampires and witches. Carlisle's father was in fact a vampire hunter, though he rarely ever caught genuine vampires. Only very occasionally he got it right.

'But one day he did get it right. There were vampires hiding down in the sewers. So they grabbed their pitch forks and torches and waited for them to emerge. At sun down a vampire, very old and probably weak from hunger, emerged. He warned the others not to come up and escaped down the street. Carlisle, being young and fit, was very fast and was first in the pursuit. The vampire was hunger crazed and so he turned to defend himself. The vampire ended up killing several people and left Carlisle bleeding in the street. Then Carlisle, not quite knowing what was happening to himself, crept into a storage shed and waited for the pain to pass. After the transformation was complete, Carlisle hated what he had become. He tried suicide a couple of times, jumping from great heights, trying to drown himself. As you would know, none of these attempts worked. He then tried starving himself. He never touched a human and ventured far out into the country where he wouldn't be tempted.

'He became desperate though. One day, when he was sitting alone wallowing in self pity, a deer past. He reacted on instinct and attacked the animal. Ever since then, he has been living on animal blood.'

'Is that why all of you drink animal blood, too?' I asked as we started along the forest border again. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds and I had the urge to run into the yard and see my skin sparkle but I restrained myself; it wouldn't look too good after just discussing how Newborn's acted on impulse.

'We don't want to be monsters,' she said lowering her eyes to the ground. 'We drink animal blood as a substitute for a human's. It seems more humane than killing innocent people.'

'But …' I said trying to phrase my thoughts in a non-harmful way. 'You're still killing animals—taking their _innocent _lives from them.'

'Well, we have to do something to survive.'

'I know you do. It's just that killing is not humane, whether you take a humans life or an animals.' I tried to sound kind but still get my point across.

'Yes, but you'll find that I said _more_ humane, not completely humane. We must do what we must to survive—without blood we, more or less, die.'

'Hmmm, I suppose,' I said walking under the shade of a large maple tree, tearing a leaf from its stem and shredding it between my nimble fingers. The sky was now cloud-free and seemed to sparkle in the dazzling glow of the sun. 'How old is the oldest vampire in the world?' I asked randomly in an attempt to relieve the slight tension and awkwardness that had grown between us.

'Oh, well, um,' Renesmee said stumbling slightly on her words in surprise at the strange change in direction the conversation had taken. 'Hmmm, let's see. Well, the three Volturi are some of the oldest I know, and they are around one thousand years old each. But there are most likely others that are older. I'm not sure exactly how old.'

'Oh.'

'Why do you ask?' Renesmee questioned, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

'Just curious, I guess,' I replied looking out over the yard and into the forest, watching some bright birds squawking and flapping their wings in the tree tops. 'Doesn't Edward or Bella ever get bored of this life? I mean, eternity sounds like a heck of a long time to live.'I looked up into her eyes to find her staring up into the tree branches above her head.

'Sometimes I guess, but when you have someone to share it with, it makes it a whole lot more bearable.'

That didn't make me feel any better since I had never had a boyfriend, or anyone even close. Of course I had Renesmee and Jacob, and everyone else, but they just didn't seem to fulfil my need to be close to someone.

Then there was Michael. I felt sorry for him now that I had heard his story, but I couldn't return his affection in the way he felt for me. He might make a great friend, but there just wasn't any love there for him.

So instead of going through my thoughts, I asked a question that I had been pondering for some time. 'Why did you give me up? I know that you said it was family issues, but that isn't really an explanation. You knew I wouldn't get hurt here—there must have been something else that forced you to give me up.'

Renesmee was quiet for a while. A few thoughts filtered through to me, but none that really shed light on my question. When Renesmee did speak however, she looked straight into my eyes, unleashing the full power of her deep brown gaze upon me.

'When we left you to Joanne and Finn, we were in grave danger of losing you. You see, the Volturi were coming to check up on me to make sure everything was in order; the Volturi were wary that I was dangerous, as you know. Well, obviously, we did not want them to discover our secret: that Jacob and I had had a child whose future was unknown—'

'Hey, hang on,' I interrupted, almost rudely. 'Wouldn't Alice have been able to see my future, to see how I would turn out?'

'No. You are a blind spot in her visions; she cannot see things that she has not been. She can see vampires because she is one. She can see humans because she was one, but the future of humans are slightly blurred for she is no longer one of their kind. Werewolves and half and halves are all blind spots—she was never half a werewolf and vampire, she was never a true werewolf, so therefore she cannot "see" them.' She looked down at the ground, deep in thought—until I brought back to earth.

'So, the Volturi came, but, then, why didn't you come and get me after that?' I asked.

She paused, then continued, 'Because they made regular visits after that. Trust them not to show for around twenty years and then make their visits frequent and inconvenient.

'But we did visit every month to see you, but we had to make sure that you never saw us in return. I am so sorry we did not come to collect you, but under those circumstances it was impossible.'

'But then, what will happen now? How often were the Volturis' visits?' I asked, suddenly fretting about my current situation.

'They checked in every couple of months. It has been two months since their last visit.'

'But, then, I'll have to go back to Joanne and Finn, won't I?' I asked. Already my past foster parents were starting to feel more like Joanne and Finn, rather than Mum and Dad.

Renesmee was silent again for a moment as she led me towards the bench we had sat on just a few days previously. 'No,' she said leaning back against the would-be cold steel, but with this skin it felt normal. 'I think it's high time that we stood up against those maniacs.' Her face took on a far off fierceness and determination.

'But… what will they do? When they find out?' A ray of the sun penetrated the canopy of green leaves above me to rest on the skin of my hand. I observed, in wonder and amazement, the diamond-like sparkles that danced across my skin in the light of the sun, rainbow coloured reflections bounding across the wool in my red jumper and my other hand.

'We'll figure it out when, or rather if, the time comes.' She brushed a curl from her eyes and sighed. 'We won't let them get you,' she said gently placing a comforting hand on my knee. 'There's no need for you to be afraid. If we have to, we'll move elsewhere, to someplace that they won't find us in for a while. Then we'll just continue to move around, change our location every few weeks.' Her thoughts still filtered through to me, along with thoughts from those inside, but nothing that was really very interesting—well all, that is, except Michaels; his thoughts were full of affection for me and the way he was going to break it to me, just in case I was too thick to figure it out for myself.

I thought about everyone inside and wondered how they would feel about moving every couple of weeks just for me. Then I thought about how they were so keen to win back my love and affection, and for me to forgive them for giving me up in the face of losing me forever, that protecting me from harm's way by moving probably didn't seem like too much of a sacrifice.

'Carlisle mentioned something about teenagers down in the Quileute reservation taking on the werewolf role when there are vampires around. How does that work?' I asked taking a jab at conversation. Renesmee didn't seem to mind the sudden change of subject—to be honest, she looked almost glad. In the silence that had followed our plan of escape, Renesmees face had grown graver as the seconds had ticked by.

'Well, Jacob's told me a lot about the subject and he says that their bodies just sort of react to the presence of vampires by developing the wolf gene in their body.'

'What happens if there aren't any vampires around? Would they still develop the wolf gene?' I questioned leaning back against the seat.

'No, I think not. Jacob explained that for the transformation to occur a vampire must be close by: if there is no vampire then there is no transformation.' Renesmee removed her hand from my knee and, instead, took my hand in both of hers, enclosing it in her warm grasp. Our hands were a perfect match, white upon white. I could feel her pulse against my fingers; slower than my own, though faster than any humans. I looked up to see her face and found that the corners of her lips were upturned in a small smile as she studied me.

Then suddenly I was in her embrace, her arms wrapped around me as though she were protecting me from a vicious beast. 'I am _so_ sorry that we ever abandoned you,' she sobbed, her words muffled by my shoulder. 'I wouldn't be surprised if you never forgave us. Being scared was no excuse for what we did.' Her voice hitched in strange places, as it did when you were on the verge of tears.

'It's fine,' I said awkwardly patting her softly on the back. 'I understand, and I forgive you.' Renesmee pulled back and gave me a weak smile, wiping away the tears that had made their escape down her blotchy cheeks. She sniffed and placed a hand upon the side of my neck.

I gasped: a picture replaced Renesmees face, a picture so clear that I would have believed I was seeing it for myself had I not known that it was impossible.

_I was looking down at a baby held in my arms, her glossy black hair glinting in the moon light flooding through the open window. The contrast between her pale white skin that peeked above the soft pink blanket, her chubby red cheeks, and the pale purple eyelids of her sleepy eyes was stunning. I had to brush my fingers along her cheek to sweep a few stray strands of hair from her face to make sure she really was real._

My baby, _I thought. _My little Isabella. _I looked up into the comforting face of Jacob who, too, was admiring our new daughter._

'_She's beautiful,' I heard a familiar voice say from the doorway. I turned to see Carlisle enter and felt a small surge of annoyance at his use of the word 'beautiful'; anyone could see that she deserved a much more superior word to describe her devastating magnificence than 'beautiful.' It made her sound drab and unoriginal, but she was much, much more than that—she was magnificent, superb, glorious, though even those words didn't even begin to cover her._

_But one thing I knew for sure was that she was one of a kind. Born to a half vampire, half human and a werewolf—who knew what she was to become._

_Carlisle took a step closer to the bed I was tucked into and my hands tightened around my little sleeping bundle protectively. _Oh no, _I thought desperately. _My times up. _I cuddled my daughter closer to my chest and ducked my chin as though I could erase her from Carlisles gloomy view._

_Carlisle held out his hands expectantly, as if I would gracefully hand over my one and only child to practically strangers. Jacob knelt down beside the bed and placed a hand upon Isabella's tiny forehead. 'Goodbye little-one, but not forever.' He bent down and kissed her forehead tenderly before standing and moving to the window. I thought I saw a small tear glisten on his cheek before he turned. I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from her, or even move from my defensive pose._

_It took a minute but I finally regained enough control over my aching body to bend down the extra inch between me and Isabella's cheek. She felt so warm in my arms, so much a part of me that I didn't think it possible for me to survive without her body close to mine._

_Carlisle moved just that little bit closer. 'I know this is hard for you,' he said. _'_But you have to understand that this is for her own good.' Jacob returned to my side and slung a comforting arm around my shoulders._

'_You know that we will go and visit every week—every day if we have to.' Jacob slowly, but deliberately pried my arms away from her sleeping form and carried her to Carlisle. Tears began to cascade down my cheeks in endless torrents, my body ached to hold her again and my throat started to close up making me gasp and my breathing hitch loudly._

'_Goodbye my baby,' I said softly as she slept on, completely unaware of the catastrophic turn her life had just taken. 'Goodbye my little Isabella.'_

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	11. PLANS

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the long gaps between my chapters but it is difficult for me to find time to write at the moment. I would also like to say to those of you who have read chapter nine and discovered that it was exactly the same as chapter four, you will be glad to know that my friend has informed me of my error and it has been fixed. Thank you for reading my story, and again sorry about the wait!!**

PLANS

I blinked as the vision of the small bedroom and the sad scene held within it disappeared and was replaced by Renesmee and the garden once more. My thoughts were in a scramble as one half of my brain revisited and attempted to make sense of what I had just witnessed, and the other half pondered over Renesmee's secret gift.

It took several minutes to decide which half of my brain would gain control over my mouth first. It was a long and well matched battle that ended in the words tumbling out of my mouth in a rush and becoming incomprehensible. Renesmee cocked her head to one side and I repeated the question, fighting to keep my words from mixing together.

'Is that when Carlisle took me to live with Joanne and Finn?' I asked, each syllable sounding like its own word for that was the only way I could keep my words from turning into a jumbled mess.

'Yes,' she said, lowering her eyes to her knees where her hands were now clasped.

'Oh,' was the only word I could think of to answer her statement. Of course I had known that in the vision I had been the baby in Renesmee's clutches, but to have it confirmed by her seemed to have a greater impact than simply realizing it.

We sat in silence for a long time after that, both immersed our own thoughts, too preoccupied to notice the silence that hung heavily around us and pressing against my ears. I ran over the short scene again and again until I had worn it out completely and analysed every aspect.

Then I heard a twig snap off to my left, deep in the forest; Carlisle and Michael were back. I could hear whispers of their voices carried to me of the wind, and by the sounds of them, Michael wasn't the least bit happy that he had been discovered.

Renesmee returned to the present as she, too, heard their voices.

'C'mon,' she said, standing up and holding out a hand for me to take. 'We had better go and see if we can help Carlisle with Michael.'

I took Renesmee's outstretched hand and she pulled me easily to my feet. We had only to walk a few steps into the forest, however, before Carlisle emerged dragging a somewhat reluctant Michael. Michael tugged his hand hard in an attempt to free himself, but Carlisle only tightened his grip.

'You can't hide out here,' Carlisle said, turning around and patting Michaels' hand with his free one.

'You wanna bet?' I heard Michael grumble, but he made no further shots at freedom.

'Ah, Renesmee and Isabella, lovely,' Carlisle said pleasantly, spotting us standing beside an old oak. 'Renesmee, could you take Michael's other arm?'

Renesmee moved forward, took hold of Michaels arm as instructed and started to lead him towards the house. I trailed after them, slower than I thought I was capable of going with my new found speed. My thoughts ranged all over the place, mostly going though that night in the bedroom even though there wasn't much else for me to see in that vision.

As we re-entered the front yard I distinctly heard a loud groan issue from the confines of the house and then someone say, 'Come now, Jacob. Be rational.' But it was apparent that Jacob had other plans; seconds later he stomped down the steps, marched across the lawn and around the corner of the house. I heard a button being pressed and then a metallic groan that I guessed to be the garage door opening to reveal the Cullen's exclusive line of automobiles. An engine roared to life, tyred squealed and a bright yellow Porche appeared ripping up the grass as it sped towards the narrow forest lane that led to the highway. I got a glimpse of Jacob's face before it was whipped out of sight: the lines of his features were set in a hard mask of extreme dislike and anger.

I looked back up at the porch to find everyone gathered, looking out across the yard and into the trees where the sound of the car was fading quickly into the distance.

Carlisle took a deep breath, sighed heavily and turned to mount the front steps, Michael still in his grasp. Michael didn't struggle, or make any attempt at freedom; he just dragged his feet at every step and held an expression of pure agony. I felt so sorry for Michael; how could Jacob have been so openly cruel? All the same, I could tell that Jacob had some strong opinions and that having Michael around wasn't helping in the least.

'Does this happen often?' I asked Renesmee in the quietest whisper I could muster. I knew that my attempt at being secretive was wasted as soon as the words were out of my mouth for every head turned in my direction.

'Only once before,' Carlisle replied. 'In that instance Jacob took off like he has today and didn't return for over a week. By that time he was in total disarray. But on that last occasion he wasn't anywhere near as upset as he was today.' I thought 'upset' was a bit of an understatement.

Everyone fell silent after that. I followed Carlisle's ascent of the front steps and into the house. Every single face betrayed an emotion of, or the equivalent to anger, misery, and hopelessness, as though something more than just Jacob's getaway had happened.

Some thoughts still trickled into me like the slow flow of a creek or stream, but nothing that was even close to connecting to our current situation. I thought Jacob needed help—not the help you would get from a physiatrist, but the support of a family member, of someone close to his heart.

My first choice for someone that fit that bill exactly would have been Renesmee, but I wasn't sure even she was up to it; she looked just as angry, perhaps slightly angrier, than the rest of the household.

I stood there for a full hour, never moving, a plan forming in my mind becoming clearer and clearer by the second. By the time everyone had started moving and getting back into their daily routines, I had a fully formed plan mapped out in my head.

Carlisle started to walk towards me, a sombre expression held in his eyes. I quickly tried to compose my face into a mask of serenity, or even anger, for I was sure my face betrayed an expression of joy now that I had a plan.

'I am so sorry you had to bear witness to that,' he said, bowing his head as though Jacob's actions were his own reckless decisions. 'With everything else you are going through at the moment—I am sure that was of no aid.'

Carlisle seemed to make me feel slightly guilty even though I knew perfectly well that that was never his intension. My plan seemed to falter slightly as I stared at his grief stricken figure, how bent and vulnerable he looked; his family was practically being torn apart and here I was about to take away another family member—one that had just joined this family.

Then I remembered Edward; he was able to read minds—he would have listened to me as my scheme had evolved, he would know every detail, every aspect of my brilliant plan. I looked over in his direction and found him staring at me. I gave him a weak, half guilty smile that he did not return.

I looked back to Carlisle desperately trying to ignore Edward.

_How can she do this? _I heard him think angrily. _She has no right._

_Oh, no, _I thought. _He's going to stop me._

'It's perfectly OK,' I said to Carlisle. 'It wasn't your fault.' Edward's angry thoughts continued to filter through my head.

'I know it wasn't, but I still feel horrible about it.'

_It is now or never, _I thought. _Just let Edward try and stop me._

'Hey, Carlisle, do you reckon I could just go for a short walk? Burn off some steam?' I said as casually as I could manage. My little fluttery heart seemed to beat slightly faster in my chest.

'Yeah, sure. Take as long as you need,' he replied, seeming to suspect nothing unusual in my question.

'Thanks. I shouldn't be too long,' I said, practically lying trough my teeth.

I chanced one more look in Edward's direction before I stepped through the door: his features were stiff, his face showed only anger, but in the light of the present circumstances, he did not look too out of place.

As I hurried down the front steps I attempted to push Edward from my mind and only focus on the first phase of my remarkable scheme. It was hard but I managed. I broke into a run as I hit the forest borders. Trees whipped past me as I flew through the trunks and towards the road. My feet made no sound as they barely touched the ground for I was running so fast. The thrill of the speed wiped all of my problems from my mind—well, that is, until I reached the road and the future full of the unknown stretched out in front of me in the form of black tarmac and dotted white lines.

Before I could talk myself out of it I started to run again using the trees beside the road as cover form any prying human eyes—not that they would be able to see me anyway; I was travelling far too fast for any human to follow. I knew exactly which direction Jacob had journeyed as the fresh tyre marks on the road were a dead giveaway.

As I ran I finalized my plan so that I had every stage perfect.

First, I would find Jacob which, I had to admit, could take some time, especially if he wished not to be found.

Second, I would talk to him about Michael: how Michael wasn't that bad, really.

And then, I would try to persuade him to come back. It was the last part that I was most worried about; I was scared that he would refuse.

After ten minutes or so of running, my cover of trees disappeared and was replaced by miles upon miles of dry red soil with the occasional cactus, tuff of brown grass, or rock sticking up out of the dirt. I didn't have to use my imagination to believe that I had just landed on another planet. The sun beat down hard and I had to make sure I didn't look at my hands for fear of being blinded. The open space made me feel exposed and vulnerable like a dancer on stage who had forgotten her next step in front of a thousand people all holding rotten tomatoes. I pushed my legs harder if possible . I looked behind me and saw that I left no foot prints.

If my calculations were correct, the next town in this direction was a smallish settlement by the name of Black Canyon City. I was glad that I had once been forced to do an essay on Phoenix and its surrounding areas in Geography last year. The town resided, now I remembered, about fifty miles from Phoenix meaning that I was over three quarters of the way there.

The sun hung low on the horizon, a large golden orb causing the arid red landscape to glow in its brilliance. The sky slowly turned a slight pink and the temperature began to drop. Then, just as the sun touched the soil and the sky turned from pink to dazzling orange, a dark silhouette on the horizon announced the impending township of the city I longed to find my father concealed within.

The silhouette steadily grew; the one dark shape transforming before my eyes into individual buildings. Once I got closer still, I found that the city was not all that small, but just a slightly less imposing miniature of the sprawling city of Phoenix.

I drew up to the outskirts of the city trying to settle on where the best possible place to search for Jacob would be. I resolved my small dilemma by deciding to venture into the centre of town and go from there.

I stole silently through the deserted backstreets, finding my way slowly towards the town square. The sun had retreated and left behind a chilly winter's night. The stars shone bright in the sky like beacons leading me towards my goal. The alley I was following ended and I was led out into a small park with a little pond and lots of large trees under which sat park benches all facing the black water that rippled in the soft breeze.

I scanned the scene in search of the one figure that I sought, but only to come up empty handed—not that I had expected to come across him that easily. I took a deep breath and almost staggered.

The most amazing, tantalizingly mouth-watering aroma filled my nose and lungs. My head spun in the beauty of the smell. It was one hundred million times better than when I had smelt Renesmee's scent for the first time. I was instantly forced down into the crouch of a hunter, all sense and reasoning long forgotten as I hungrily searched the scene again for the source of the smell that was so enticing it was almost cruel. My eyes locked on those of a girl sitting almost obscured from my vision by the tree that she was sheltered behind. I took another breath and that dry burn in my throat returned as it had been when I had first 'awoken.' Then I pounced, like a leopard on its prey, so fast that the girl had no time to react, but just sit there, frozen, as the beautiful creature came in for the kill.

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	12. MISTAKES

**A/N: Sorry to everyone who has been awaiting the next chapter of my story and has almost given up on me! This chapter, for some strange reason, was really hard to write and I kept getting 'Snagged', where I wouldn't be able to write anything that I thought was good enough. But anyway, it's finished now! Please, please, please don't give up on me yet! I promise (this may be a bad idea for now it will be in writing) that I will be quicker in creating the next chapter!**

Mistakes

I looked down upon my handiwork, too appalled by the murder I had committed to look away from the still, stark-white form of the human child no older than I. My teeth marks – and the blood that had accompanied them – stood out horribly against her slender neck. Her deep hazel eyes were wide and lifeless; her mouth forever open in a silent scream. Vivid red hair fanned out around her face like flames from hell; her limbs splayed out at unnatural angles from her fall.

I stood there for God knows how long, just trying to grasp the enormity of the crime I had just executed. The wind blew about me, rustling my hair and scattering the dead leaves. I willed the girl to move, breathe, or show any sign of life, but she just lay there, one hand over her heart, the other drooping limply by her side.

Then I heard footsteps, still far off in the distance, yet close enough to become a possible threat. The footfalls were irregular and sounded as though the person who they belonged to were dragging them along the ground every few steps; the common sign of one who has had a fair amount to drink. Their raucous laughter sounded, echoing slightly as if they were in a narrow alley. The noise seemed to act as an antidote for my shock and disbelief. I bent down quickly over the girl and closed her eyelids in a sign of respect before carrying her limp form to an old oak tree beside the water's edge. There I placed her lifeless body in a way that suggested that she had died in her sleep – except for the large bloody mark on her neck. I rubbed at it hard and managed to remove most of the crimson blood to leave just a crescent scar on her skin.

The laughter was growing ever louder, and so I did the only thing I could think of; I fled.

I ran as hard and as fast as I could manage, clueless as to my destination. I willed the picture of the victim of my thirst to be carried away, but even the thrill of the speed did not erase the memory. It was as if someone had super glued the picture in front of my eyes, preventing me from focusing on anything but that horrific scene.

I travelled for hours without slowing, moving through red deserts and vast grassy plains, my mind never wavering from the ghastly episode I had left behind. The stars were blinding in the dark night sky, but instead of the comforting dots that usually winked down at me from the familiar constellations, they seemed to glare from their positions in the heavens, staring me down, scolding me for running from what I had done. I abandoned the tarmac and ventured out across the dry red soil. As I flew past cactuses and rugged mountain ranges, I begun to worry for the first time since that ghastly incident; what would happen to me now? I would ever be able to face Carlisle and his family with what I had just done. Imagine what they would think of me.

Finally I slowed my pace to a quick walk, and then stopped completely. I could stay out here: I deserved to be lonely after what I had done.

_At least I won't be able to attack anyone out here, _I thought bitterly, crouching down to sit on the dirt and wrapping my arms around my legs. I rocked backwards and forwards like a cornered child who was terrified of what was to happen next.

Then I heard a faint swish of fabric and soft footfalls. I looked around in alarm and in the darkness I spotted a group of six human forms in the distance, their frames growing rapidly with every second gone by: vampires. I raised myself from the ground and into a crouch, breathing hard. What was I to do? I could run, but I was sure they would only follow me. I could stay and fight, but there was a possibility they could be coming for the kill.

As the figures grew ever closer, I was still undecided as to what my next move would be. I stayed stock still in an effort to blend in with my surroundings though I knew perfectly well that my efforts were in vain; no vampire would be able to miss my figure crouching on the horizon, even from a mile away.

The group was almost level with me now, so close that I could hear their even breaths and the soft pounding of their feet on the dirt. I let a low warning growl escape my throat and my eyes narrowed. The group slowed and came to a halt about ten yards from me as though I were something foul that they wished not to approach.

I looked them up and down, taking in how beautiful they all were. Three men who stood in the front looked to be the leaders. Behind them stood three more figures, two men and a girl. The girl in particular, caught my attention; she looked to be no older than I, or even younger. Her pale brown hair was cropped short, framing her face which held full lips and big, innocent eyes with bright red irises. Her slim body was hidden beneath a cloak as dark as night. This coat seemed to be a type of uniform for every member stood tall, their cloak wrapped securely around their stiff shoulders.

They stood for a moment before one of the leaders with shoulder length, white hair, milky red eyes and strange, almost translucent, powdery skin, sauntered forwards, a sneer plain on his face. My growl grew louder and more threatening but apparently not threatening enough; the man did not even flinch at the sound.

'Someone has been wicked, haven't they?' he drawled.

My growl was becoming even more pronounced as I assessed my chances of getting away from this group unscathed – they were pretty low. At the same time as I was weighing up the situation, I pondered his use of the word wicked, trying to work out to whom he was referring. Surely he didn't mean me as I knew perfectly well that my stunt back in Black Canyon City had been sick and wrong, but I was almost certain that my family were practically unique in their diet of animal blood. Surely my accident wouldn't anger these vampires.

'Now, now, Caius, there's no need for that,' a man with long, flowing black hair, the same strange papery skin and milky red eyes, said firmly. He too, stepped forwards, his black cloak brushing against the ground. 'We are here to complete a deed, not terrorise her.'

Caius scowled but otherwise ignored the other man's comment. Then it all clicked into place; they were here to return me to my family.

'No,' I growled, moving further away from the group. 'I refuse to go back – not after what I did.'

Caius looked pleasantly surprised, raising a perfect eyebrow.

'Go back? To the Cullen's, you mean? Oh, no,' he said, fixing me with a nasty smile. 'I promise you, you won't be going anywhere near that dwelling.' He placed a hand over his silent heart as though he thought he was being generous by saying these words that sent shivers down my spine.

My confusion peaked as the shivers ceased and Caius turned to face his party. I watched as the man with long black hair took Caius's hand and the last leader's hand who I noticed, had almost the same long, wavy black hair as the other leader. He also wore an expression that clearly declared he was bored out of his mind.

My growl reached new levels, ripping through the silent air as my mind went into over-drive, thinking of all the possibilities as to why they might seek me out in the middle of nowhere if they were not here to return me safe and sound to the Cullen's.

'Who are you and what are you doing here?' I snarled through breaks in my growls.

Caius turned slowly, pulling with him the other two leaders.

'Us?' he whispered pleasurably. 'We are the Volturi.' My mouth fell open at the name. 'You see, your parents are wicked, wicked people for introducing you into the world, Isabella. And, oh yes, I know your name,' he added, as I gave a start at the sound of it when it was thrown so casually into the less than friendly conversation. 'When your parents conceived you, they were practically breaking the rules and we couldn't have that, could we? Of course at that time we knew nothing of you. It was only when we smelt… smelt something not quite right when we entered the house. It wasn't a strong smell, but it was definitely there. From then on we kept our visits frequent, arriving at times we thought would be inconvenient so they wouldn't have enough time to hide whatever it was, but after that first visit we never smelt it again. We persisted, though, just in case,' He waved an airy hand. 'And then, when we arrived not hours ago, there it was again, that strange smell that wasn't vampire, it wasn't werewolf, but it wasn't human either—it seemed to be a mixture of all three.'

'So we became curious and decided to follow the scent, and who do we find? We find a lone girl in the middle of the desert with the same scent as the one back at the house.'

My temper was beginning to rise; since when were my parents wicked people? And the way he talked about them, as though they were vile creatures. Shivers erupted at the base of my spine and travelled fast to the top of my head. At first I thought it was just from Caius's voice, but then the shivers gained a new quality; heat. The shivers grew more violent, causing my whole body to move with them. Tingles ran from my feet to my head as my anger grew more intense. Then a loud ripping shot through the air like gun fire and I was forced down onto all fours.

A smile broke out on all the faces ahead of me, which somehow infuriated me more. I started to advance upon the group, my head low and a vicious snarl tearing through my bared teeth. But instead of the group losing their smiles and turning to flee, Caius merrily said, 'Jane,' and continued to stare at me pleasantly as though he were enjoying this thoroughly.

Then pain shot through my body, so intense that I fell to the ground crippled and whining. It seemed to last forever and then, when the pain evaporated, my body still ached as though I had been the target of a brutal bashing.

'Now, you see that will be your punishment if you do not do exactly as you are told,' Caius said. 'If you do not obey our every word, Jane here is more than happy to make you see a little clearer.'

My rage still ran through my veins but I was sane enough to remember how the pain had felt like knives on my skin, and that kept me from making any more rash decisions.

'Ah, I see we are a quick learner, excellent. Then this should be as easy as taking candy from a baby. Follow us.'

I hesitated before moving, and received another short slash of pain.

'I said follow me,' Caius growled, turning once more to leave.

This time I was less willing to receive more pain so I quickly followed the groups footsteps as they headed back the way they had come.

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**Just a little reminder: Please review!!!**

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	13. SNAGGED

**AN: Hey everyone! As promised, I did get this chapter up quicker than the last (if only by a week)! This chapter is probably a little more sinister than the rest. I just hope you enjoy it! (And review it!)**

SNAGGED

We travelled for only around an hour, heading back towards the road that I had abandoned in my desperation to be alone. My anger levels were still dangerously high and I was sure if anyone were to comment on my family again, I would surely lose all of the serenity that I had managed to locate.

My family.

I heaved a silent sigh. My family had got to be wondering where I was by now. I prayed that they would find me before these vampires took me from my home. I just wished that I had never left them in the first place. Looking back, my plan, that I had thought was so brilliant before, now seemed like the stupidest idea in the world. Jacob would have calmed down eventually and then returned home and so I had come out here for nothing. I took a deep breath and exhaled heavily as though I thought I might be able to rid myself of these problems in that one breath. Of course, it didn't work.

Upon reaching the road, I discovered that Caius and the others had not ventured out alone in their quest to find me; parked on the ledge of the road were a seemly inconspicuous white sedan and perhaps a more sinister looking truck, standing alongside of which were two more vampires. I could guess at just which of these vehicles I would be travelling in and was not too happy at the thought.

'Ah, here we are,' Caius said pleasantly, stopping a few feet from the truck and turning to address his party. 'I am sure you will find your accommodations to your liking,' he said, this time directing his somewhat snide comment at me. At his words there was a scattering of laughter and cold hands closed around my middle and heaved me upwards easily as though I weighed no more than a stuffed toy. I was then thrown roughly into the back of the truck and the whole frame of the vehicle shook as a man with dark brown hair, red eyes and white skin and dressed in jeans, a white shirt and the customary black cape slammed the doors with more force than was really necessary. A heavy bolt slid into place and I was left in the dark, alone, trapped and petrified, fearing what else this unfortunate chapter of my life could behold for surely there was a limit to how much misery and bad luck one could stand.

Outside I could hear my captors conversing in low whispers – finalizing their plan I supposed – but I paid them no mind as I was too preoccupied in scheming of my own. I needed to get away – to escape from this hell hole and return to my family who were probably distraught in discovering that I must have run away rather than having just gone for a short walk to cool off like I had said. Of course Edward had seen my initial plan – how I had intended to find Jacob, make him see sense, and to return him home. Of course, getting caught was hardly part of my original plan – nor was killing an unsuspecting innocent for that matter. I was still grieving for that poor girl whose life I had suddenly cut short.

But now was no time to dwell on the past and fret about my family who were safe when I was not. The engine roared to life and I did the first thing I could think of; I ran head first at the door to my cell – and managed to do no damage what so ever to the steel, but instead received stars in my vision, and an aching skull. Pain also shot through my body like wildfire that I guessed had no connection to my charge except that I supposed it was aimed to make me cease my efforts to escape. Jane! Though at that moment, just like when I had made that young girl my prey, I forgot all sense and reasoning and continued to ram the door, receiving the same consequences each time. The door never moved one inch, but in my desperation I tried again and again, praying that on one of my hits perhaps the door might finally give-way and lead me to freedom – but it never did. Of course, in my desperation I never thought of changing back to a vampire and pulverising the door.

After around an hour of vain attempts at freedom, I began to grow weary, exhausted from my continual charges at the solid iron wall. I turned and tried to calm myself with the few comforts they had graced me with. In one corner of the dusty floor lay a quilt covered in a pink floral pattern. Opposite it sat a bowl of water that was half empty from our bumpy ride. I didn't know what Caius had meant by 'finding my accommodations to my liking,' since they definitely didn't go out of their way to please me – then again, why would they care how their prisoner felt? I was sure my life was coming to a close, putting a sad end to this dreadful chapter, and so I reluctantly took what little comfort I was given as I guessed I was lucky to have even this.

I curled up on the rug in true dog style, circling a few times before settling down on the surprisingly soft fabric. I closed my eyes, not sure whether sleep would evade me or engulf me. I moved with the truck as it bounced down the road before slipping into a deep and welcome sleep that I felt I deserved after all this time.

_I sit on the damp forest floor. Something about it stirs a fleeting memory but I can't quite put my finger on it. The sun filters down dimly through the canopy, scattering little circles of light across my skin and the leaves around me. I stare in wonder at my hand as the light dances upon my palm._

_Then a muffled footstep makes me look up into the red eyes of a man no older than thirty. I gasp at the sight for I have never in my life seen red eyes like these before; strangely milky. I then take in the rest of his appearance; his skin is bizarre, like paper almost, and just as pale. His features are beautiful, every one perfect in its own way. His white hair waves gently to his chin, framing his face. He wears a black cape over a plain white shirt and black dress pants; a bit fancy for the forest._

Perhaps he's lost, _I think, surprised I'm able to think straight when his beauty almost blinds me._

_His lips turn up at the corners, which makes his face even harder to look away from. I remove myself from the ground and take a mesmerized step towards him as he sniffs the air. An almost greedy look crosses his face and I can't do anything but stare as he strides towards me, a hungry grin that I don't understand lighting his face._

_He is now close enough to touch but I stand frozen to the spot as I watch him lean in close to me as though he were about to give me a kiss. And then, with movements too fast for me to comprehend, he grabs me and forces my neck to his mouth._

I awoke abruptly but kept my eyes closed, my heart racing against my ribs as if I had just participated in a marathon. I tried to get a grip on myself, repeating over and over in my head that it was just a dream but I was finding it difficult to shake the image of Caius lowered his mouth to my neck. I took a deep breath and found that a different smell to the one in the trailer of the truck met my nose; instead of the smell of diesel and must, the air smelt… clean. There was also a slight fragrance I thought I recognised as frangipani. I opened my eyes to find that during my slumber, I had been relocated and now lay on the floor of what I believed to be an airplane. I stared around the dark cabin that I was contained in, at the spotless white surfaces of the cubicle, a sinking feeling settling in the bottom of my stomach: I was out of chances.

I lowered my head onto my paws, trying not to think of what was hidden in the near future. I was reminded of when I was back at the Cullen's house and I had to tell myself that really it had only happened a week or so ago. Now, in my present state, it felt like a whole world away. It had been when I had just woken from a confused sleep full of strange, sinister characters and foreign lands – not so unlike the one I had just emerged from. I had been scared of Edward when he had entered the room, and he had been telling me not to be frightened of them when a maple leaf flowing down the stream outside the window had caught my attention. It had reminded me of my own life and the sudden twists and turns it was taking. Again I was comparing my life to an inanimate object but it just seemed so like my own journey as it had bobbed along with the stream's current. Though I knew that that wasn't a very precise association but so far it was the only thing I had. I knew of no one else who had gone through this sort of trauma. Of course there were always reports on the news about kidnappings and abductions and then there were all the television broadcasts – but being abducted by a group of sadistic vampires? That was even stranger than being kidnapped by aliens.

_At least they're not 'happy-go-lucky' vampires or something unheard of like that, _I thought bitterly. _No, wait – scratch that: at least then they wouldn't be so intent on my death._

I looked around the small cabin for a distraction and found something perfect; clothes. I shot up and trotted over to the clothes that were folded in a neat pile in the corner. I picked up the first garment in my mouth and laid it flat so that I could examine it. It was a plain royal blue, V-neck shirt with short sleeves. Sure, it was in my size, but flattering? Not in the least. Stylish? Yeah, perhaps a few years ago but not in these times. My style? Not at all. I grabbed the second item and laid it next to the shirt. They were a pair of long brown, cotton sweat pants, just as drab and boring as the shirt.

I was just about to turn away when I suddenly realized what I was doing: these items were God's gift in my situation and I had been just about to turn my back on them. I spun back to my generous offerings and was just about to change back to my human form when I had an idea; why not make life as difficult for these people as possible? I thought about it and was quite pleased with myself. If these people were going to kill me, then I wasn't going to go quietly or without a fight – I planned to make their life as challenging as I could.

I threw the clothes back into the corner, returned to my quilt and sat on my haunches. There was a small window opposite me and through it I could see that it was dark. For a moment I began to wonder how long I had been asleep, but then reminded myself that I had a job to do. I shook myself mentally and looked back out of the porthole again. A large, white orb could be seen among the bright stars, throwing its light upon the land and this insignificant plane. Then I let my wolf instincts take over; I threw my head back and let forth the loudest howl I could muster.

It didn't take long for the pain of a thousand knives to reach me and mute the din I was making but I still managed to keep a soft noise going even though the pain seemed more intense than the countless encounters I had had with it in the past. The door to my cell creaked open and a not so pleasant face appeared through the crack; Caius.

'What's this infernal racket about?' he barked. I shifted slightly but otherwise stayed frozen. Caius then glanced at the clothing in the corner of my little cabin and scowled. 'We don't like our new clothes then I take it? Fine, you can go without.' And with that he strode the length of the cabin in a heartbeat leaving the door unarmed: just what I had hoped for.

I scampered to the door and slunk through the gap before Caius had time to react. Outside in the main area of the plane were a dozen or so white leather seats; four of each were grouped around small round tables. The aisle between the clusters of seats was covered in a thick red carpet that led to a door that I guessed to be the pilot's cabin. It was this door I headed to, not knowing quite what I was doing. I didn't want to crash the plane; I just wanted to make a scene. Normally, I was quiet and collected, keeping to myself and generally just being a kind person, but not today; today I was being rash and as noisy as was possible. I ran to the door at the other end of the plane, barking all the while – though I only made it half the way there before strong, cold hands took hold of my tail. I yelped in pain and swivelled to face my foes.

Obviously in a fight of six on one it's apparent who will be victorious, but in my rash and overly confident state? I tried anyway. Growling as viciously as I could, I backed down the rest of the aisle which in a situation like this, wasn't very smart. I was now even worse off than I had been before; cornered and in desperate need of help. The six vampires inched their way towards me, sneers upon each and every face.

Then the door behind me opened. I turned in time to see a large and heavy looking object fly towards my head.

I regained consciousness sometime after that to find myself once again swaying with the motion of a truck as it drove down the road. We seemed to be driving up hill as I continually began to slide towards the back of the trailer. I didn't have a clue where I was but then again – I didn't care. I was so far from home that escaping would just lead to my getting lost, making me easy to find when I would have no idea where to go or what to do.

I felt dizzy and the movement of the truck wasn't helping. I closed my eyes and instantly relived the scene on the plane. How could I have been so naïve? To think that I believed I had stood a chance in a six on one fight with vampires. I was thinking more clearly now – the heavy object that had knocked me out had reminded me of how much danger I was really in. Thinking about last night – at least I thought it was last night – made me think just how stupid I had really been. Not just in the fight but for starting all of this by looking for Jacob.

_Oh well, _I thought, heaving another sigh (I felt I was doing this a lot lately), _you were stupid but there's nothing much that you can do about it now – the past is over. Just pray that they kill you quickly._

And I did. It was a sad thing to wish for really, but in these desperate times I thought it was relevant. I prayed long and hard, making sure that I got all my thoughts through to God so that He knew exactly what I wanted. The least he could do was grant me a quick and painless death.

My praying kept me occupied for the rest of the trip. Two hours after I had opened my eyes the van began to slow but not stop completely. At first I thought that we had just driven through a city and that we were stuck in a traffic jam but then the truck began to bounce rather than sway as though we were travelling on a dirt road or cobbled lane, though I had to admit that it sounded more like the latter of the two.

I bounced along with the truck for the remainder of the ride until the truck stopped and the engine was cut leaving a heavy silence. There was a slight ringing in my ears as I listened intently for the vampires' approach. And now that I was listening I could hear voices – and a lot of them at that, but they sounded somehow distant as though they were some way away. For the hundredth time I wondered where on earth we were. Then I heard the sound I had been waiting for – rapid footsteps as quiet as the wind. I braced myself against the back of the trailer not quite sure what to expect.

The doors to my cell opened to reveal the faces of Jane and the man that I hadn't really paid any attention to. His features looked… young, as though he had been turned at the age of around thirteen or fourteen. He had the traditional white pallor, red rings around his pupils and dark brown hair cropped short. I looked between the two and then gasped… They could have been twins; both were roughly the same height though the boy had slightly darker hair and his lips were a little less full than Jane's.

Both shared a look and then turned back to smile at my cowering form in the back of the trailer.

'Alright, Alec,' Jane said, glancing at her brother, 'it's your turn to deal with The Wolf.'

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**Ok, now just a little reminder; PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


	14. VOLTERRA

**AN: OK, I'm really sorry that I'm not being very reliable in getting my chapters up quickly... but... well... all I can really say is SORRY!!!!**

**Also, there is one small thing I forgot to explain a few chapters ago, sorry. Since it has been almost 25 years since Breaking Dawn, there have been a few changes to the way the Volturi run now. About 10 years ago there was a fight between Caius and Aro over who should be leader of the… 'gang'. Caius won the squabble and is now runs the show. I was supposed to work it into the story but it didn't fit in, but I might still be able to squeeze it in somewhere. We'll see.**

**Another reminder; PLEASE REVIEW!**

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VOLTERRA

Jane and Alec may have looked young, but as they guided me through a maze of corridors with elaborate stone masonry, I began to feel that they had been around a lot longer than I. They strode down the passageways as though they owned them – but for all I knew, they could have. It was like they were trying to confuse me; they led me down so many different hallways and hidden corridors that I was fairly positive that if I did manage to escape – which was highly unlikely – I would never be able to find my way out.

Finally, we made it to an elevator that, I had to admit, I wasn't too keen to enter. Being trapped in a small, confined space with these two wasn't exactly what I had in mind as comforting. But after a stern look and a jolt of pain from Jane, I quickly changed my mind. Stepping inside the elevator, I felt a wave of doom and hopelessness sweep over me – this was surely the end, my last living moments. As the lift made its way slowly up the floors, I tried to focus on anything but what lay in wait for me at the top. I wondered whether it would kill me if I were thrown off of a ten storey building or just cause me a lot of pain.

The elevator shuddered to a stop and the grid doors ground open to reveal a long corridor of the same stone masonry that I had been led through before. I followed Jane as she strode purposefully along the passage, but she stopped halfway down and turned to face the wall to her left. I quickly realised that there was a hidden door concealed in the rough stone. Jane shot Alec a fleeting glance before pushing the secret doorway open to expose a gloomier, narrower version of the corridor I stood in.

Again, Jane led the way, moving swiftly and with a grace that took my breath away. As we walked, the doom within me grew like a poison that was spreading quickly through my system. It was only a short time before we reached the end of the corridor, coming to an abrupt halt at elaborate oak doors that I thought were wasted in this dark, dank hallway. Before Jane could even knock, the doors swung open. I stood, stunned, rooted to the spot, as I looked through the doors and into the room beyond.

The wooden doors opened into a massive round chamber with rough stone walls with wide gaps for windows and highly polished stone floors. A platform ran around the perimeter of the room, acting as a step onto the floor and widening at the opposite side of the room to accommodate three chairs. In these chairs ( that would have looked more at home in Buckingham Palace ) sat Caius and the other two Volturi who I realised I still didn't know the names of, all looking like gods sent from heaven – or in my case, demons from my own personal hell. Women stood beside each of the three chairs, all in white dresses of varying styles. The whole room was brightened by a strange bluish light and as I gazed above, searching for the source, I barely managed to suppress my gasp. The entire roof had been replaced by a magnificent glass dome depicting a scene of God and his fellow disciples. But that wasn't what had caught my attention – even though it was the most beautiful glasswork I had ever seen; it was the golden chandelier that dangled from it. It was colossal, almost obscuring the dome above it. The stems branching off from the main structure all held real candles, and what I believed to be genuine diamonds dripped from every possible place.

Women and men stood around the room: the men standing guard whilst the women went about their business and acting as though nothing unusual was happening – all but one. A woman with straight, waist length brown hair stood at a window to the left of the room, staring at our entrance with a look that seemed almost sympathetic. As I stared, I realised that something about her seemed familiar. I wasn't sure what triggered it, but I felt that I knew her from somewhere. She seemed to be about thirty-five or so with the brightest, most vivid red eyes I had ever seen. Her skin, like all around her, was snowy pale, but with a slight flush in her cheeks that looked as though she had recently been out in a blizzard or burnt by the sun. She wore a white dress like all of the other women, made of a lacy material that flowed to the floor and hung around her slim figure beautifully. But it was her face that intrigued me; it was so familiar, yet so different – so beautiful that it should have been illegal.

It was then that I understood who she was, and it tore at my heart as I stared at her through new eyes – she was my foster mother, the women who had raised me, who had always been there in my times of need, and had known when I just needed to be left alone: Joanne. Through thick and thin, she had always been there and I almost broke down there and then as I saw how her life had been taken away. I tried fruitlessly to communicate to her that I was her 'daughter' so to speak, through my eyes but she only stared back in confusion.

I stood mesmerized and heartbroken until I was brought back to the present by a musical voice that should have belonged to an archangel, not a treacherous, scheming vampire.

'Ah, Isabella, you grace us with your presence at last,' the vampire in the middle with shoulder length black hair called across the room. He held the hands of both of the other vampires but released them as he removed himself from his throne, descended from the platform and strode to the middle of the room. Jane flounced to his side with a grace that was difficult to comprehend. The vampire extended a hand which she grasped and they turned to face me.

I growled, the fur on my hackles standing on end and I backed up until I was only inches from Alec who still stood behind me. The vampire merely looked at me through amused eyes as though he was thoroughly enjoying this. Jane on the other hand was actually smiling, her full lips parting over her sharp white teeth. I glanced over at Joanne to meet her astonished gaze.

'Now, now, there is no need for that,' he said, moving forward a couple of steps, 'we're not going to harm you.' _Much_, I added bitterly in my head.

'Now, if we could all come inside, I can explain what we are all here for,' he continued. My snarl became more pronounced at his words and I backed straight into Alec. The vampire nodded in my direction and an abrupt wave swept over me; I suddenly lost all my senses – eyesight, feel, smell, hearing. I felt as though I had been lifted from my body and was drifting through space. I lost all knowledge of where I was and even who I was. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished and I was returned to my former self, highly disoriented and confused.

I was now standing in the middle of the room as opposed to backing away down the dark hallway. I was also surrounded; thirty or so godlike creatures stood shoulder to shoulder, still as the stone around them.

'That wasn't so hard, was it?' the vampire asked from behind me. A snicker ran around the circle at his words. No doubt they'd done this before and it didn't bother them in the slightest. 'I am Aro by the way. You were wondering that before.' My confusion peaked still higher. My little fluttery heart beat picked up in tempo as though it was trying to make up for the time it was going to miss when they killed me. I closed my eyes and lowered myself down to the ground, trying in vain not to think of the impending pain.

'What's all this for?' came Aro's voice, now directly above me. I peered up at him to see him gesturing at my cowering form. I was instantly perplexed; hadn't they brought me here to do away with me because I was an 'illegal creation'? Aro must have understood that the expression displayed on my face was that of confusion.

'You can't possibly believe that we would have brought you here to kill you?' he asked, raising an eyebrow. 'Why would we bring you all the way to Italy if we could have killed you back where we discovered you?' That stumped me – I hadn't thought of that. I was also amazed by the distance we had travelled. 'No, what we brought you to Volterra for was to lure your family here. Well, one member in particular.'

I desperately wished I could talk but I wasn't about to transform in front of all these vampires.

Aro bent down and I cringed away from his touch. I felt his hand on my head but he merely just rested it there, applying no pressure. The room was silent while Aro held my head. I was confused beyond comprehension but I was too afraid that if I moved he might turn on me – I still didn't believe that they had brought me here not to kill me.

After what seemed like an eternity, Aro finally released me from his touch, straightening up and looking down upon me.

'Thank-you,' he said. The room was now alert, every eye intent on Aro's face. 'I have gathered you all here today to alert you that we will – if all goes to plan – be expecting the arrival of some guests. We hope to recruit one of them for we believe he will be a very valuable asset once on our side. All with the help of Chelsea, of course.' He gestured towards a women standing to my left with long blonde hair that shimmered in the light and a tall, slim figure. She stepped forwards at the sound of her name for a brief period before closing the circle once more.

'Who is this new recruitment, Master?' a man behind me asked. I didn't dare turn to look.

'He is a new addition to the Cullen family – his name is Michael.' I gasped – or rather whined – as Aro uttered his name. Of course he would follow to try and save me but I couldn't understand why Aro would find him any different from the rest of my family. Though I found it didn't matter to me, I just wished Michael had the sense to stay away – as well as the rest of my family. My heart ached as I thought of them in the clutches of the Volturi.

'But of what use is he to us, Master?' I found it odd how they talked, using the language of the eighteenth century and referring to Aro as 'Master'.

'He is valuable to us because of his gift – a gift that the Cullen's weren't too pleased that I found out about. You see, he is the user of compulsion; he has the ability to force someone, anyone, to do whatever he wishes,' Aro told the room. I gave a start at the sound of this new information – Michael could manipulate people? Why hadn't they told me?

'And this is our bait.' Caius stepped forward from the circle and turned to address his army. I growled, raising myself from the floor and baring my teeth at Caius's back. Caius turned back to me, his smile turning smug.

'I think a night in the cellar would do wonders. Alec, if you please?' I felt the nothingness spread through my body again, this time sort of enjoying myself as I floated through the darkness. I felt like a ghost or a spirit that had been ripped from her body.

The darkness lasted longer this time and I opened my eyes to find myself in a small, dark, windowless room with no source of light. The one door on the other side of the cell was a heavy duty steel trap that I was never going to be able to break through. I sighed, resigned; I was never going to be able to get away. I padded miserably over into the corner and lay down, ignoring the cold, wet concrete floor.

I had almost managed to fall asleep when I heard hurried footsteps outside. I looked up as the heavy door creaked open and Joanne's head appeared. She carefully stepped inside and placed something on the floor beside the doorway before giving me an apologetic look and disappearing again. As soon as she was gone, I got up and carefully approached the item next to the door. It seemed to be made out of some white material. On closer inspection, I realised it was a garment of some description. I quickly picked it up and laid it on the floor: it was a white dress like those the women back in the round chamber had been wearing. It was one shouldered and looked as though it would flow down to about my knees. There was also a bundle of much appreciated underwear included.

Desperate to have my opposable thumbs and the luxury of walking on two legs again, I quickly focused my mind on becoming 'human'. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, a shiver ran down my spine, the fur covering my body shot back into my skin and my body transformed back into that of a human. I scrambled quickly to my feet and grabbed the clothes, fumbling my way into them as quickly as I possibly could, all the time with one eye on the door.

That was when I noticed the note; it had fluttered to the floor upon picking up the dress. I snatched it from the puddle it was heading towards and stared at the page that held the hand writing I knew so well.

Izzy,it read. I gave a start at seeing my nickname that I hadn't heard used in what felt like an eternity. Could it really only have been about a week since I had entered this strange mythical world?

I am so, so sorry that you had to find me like this. I would have come to find you had it not been for Chelsea who severed all of the connections I had to the outside world – she made me forget everyone I love and care for with her special ability. It was only when I heard Aro call you Isabella, that I even remembered you existed.

We need to get away from this place. I will be back soon, when I can get away for longer without being noticed. I promise that I will be back for you. Then I will explain everything.

Love Joanne.

I stared at the letter for what felt like hours, standing like a statue next to the door. I re-read every sentence over and over, trying to believe her words but they wouldn't sink in. The thought of escaping this place once and for all sounded like a dream, a wish that was never going to be granted. I moved slowly to the other side of my cell and slid down the wall to sit on the floor, wrapping my arms around my legs in a way that still allowed me to gaze at the familiar handwriting.

_She's coming back to me, _I thought over and over. _She's going to save me._ I felt like a broken record.

Time past slowly as I attempted to wait patiently. I sat very still, not even blinking, waiting for the sound I longed to hear; Joanne's footsteps approaching – but they never did. Of course footsteps did approach eventually, but they weren't the soft footfalls of Joanne – they were much too heavy, but would still be too subtle for a humans' ears to pick up. The door cracked open and the vampire who had shoved me into the back of truck all that time ago peered around the door.


	15. MASSACRE

MASSACRE

**OK, before I start, I should probably warn you that for those of you who get squeamish at the mention of killing or… um… mass murders, I suggest you skip this chapter – it's not for the faint hearted.**

'You are to follow me back to the chamber where Caius, Aro and Marcus are waiting for you.' He stared down at me then – I realized that he had put it off for some reason. His eyes widened as he discovered I was no longer covered in fur. A few thoughts flickered through his mind concerning me as he tried to figure out how I had acquired the dress.

'Demetri, what in God's name are waiting for? We were asked to bring her _promptly_.' I hadn't noticed that he wasn't alone. I stared past Demetri to find myself caught in the gaze of a tall, muscular man with wide shoulders and shaggy black hair. Stubble covered his chin.

'I was just… It doesn't matter, Felix, let's go,' Demetri said slowly. He finally decided that he would leave that problem for his master's to solve and turned on his heel to walk back up the corridor.

I followed quickly, eager not to give them any more reasons to punish me. The corridor sloped steeply upwards to end in a blinding light when we turned a sharp corner. I found myself standing in the same room as before but in a different glow. I looked towards the massive dome to find that the sky beyond was as dark as my cell had been.

'Oh, perfect – just in time,' Aro called to us from across the room, 'lunch is almost here.'

At first I didn't understand what he meant, but then I heard the shuffling footsteps and excited murmuring of many people, growing louder with every second. I finally managed to tie the two together – these humans were approaching their deaths. I felt sick at the thought of a massacre happening before me – or I would have had been human; instead I just felt a faint echo of the once familiar uncomfortable twisting of my stomach. I wanted badly to escape but both Demetri and Felix had moved to man the heavy oak doors and I knew I stood no chance even if I were stronger than them. I had no experience in fighting and I didn't think I could stand it if I killed – or even hurt – one of them.

The noises from the humans were growing closer; I could even make out most of the words spoken by each person. Felix and Demetri both reached for the elaborate brass door handles and tugged so that the doors swung open to reveal a large group of none other than… tourists, guided by a vampire I recognised as Chelsea. The group filed into the room, oblivious to the danger they were willingly putting themselves in. Some pointed at their surroundings, others gasped as their eyes fell upon the beauty of the stone masonry that covered every wall and the intricate gold chandelier that fell from the glass dome over head. Chelsea stopped in the middle of the room, bringing a halt to the tourists' dazed wanders. Caius gave a signal and Felix and Demetri closed the doors with a sharp snap causing a few tourists to look around in surprise, but then they relaxed, obviously thinking that this was some kind of prank included in the tour.

A few people were now observing the vampires in the room with open mouths. In my opinion the vampires in this room put the long dead Italian's masonry to shame and by the look appearing on more and more peoples' faces, I figured they agreed with me.

Then the smell hit me. It was like I had been knocked over the head with a wrecking ball at its fullest momentum. The breath escaped me in a whoosh only to be replaced as I greedily inhaled in the scents of the humans across from me. I bent down into a crouch, readying myself for the hunt.

A sudden breeze swept through the room, washing fresh air across my face and relieving me from the scent for a moment. In that moment I realised exactly what I was doing. Revulsion pulsed through my body, so strongly that when the breeze had run its course and the luscious scent filled my nostrils, I was able to straighten up from my crouch and cease the rhythm of my breathing. I was only left with the painful memory of the delectable scent. It was hard to resist, but possible.

As I watched, the vampires began to advance on the group, looks of hunters on their faces. A woman screamed and the humans around finally realised that this was no joke, that they were in terrible danger – even if they didn't know exactly what from… yet. Some ran from the perceived safety of numbers and towards the heavy wooden doors – which was foolish as they were still guarded by Felix and Demetri. Demetri stepped forward with a crazy look of hunger displayed on his face and with a flourish of his hands, snapped the neck of the woman that he was closest to before lowering his lips to the arch of her throat.

I hastily averted my eyes as I felt the irresistible scent of her blood swim around me, attempting to torture me with its tantalising air. Venom flowed in excess through my mouth, my muscles tensed and I felt a strong yearning in my stomach that I found almost impossible to ignore, despite the fact that I could not smell it. I had to grasp the round stone pillar beside me to stop myself from launching into the fray and joining ranks with the Volturi.

As the humans realized just what Demetri was actually doing they began to panic, running around in fruitless panic and making it just that little bit more 'fun' for the Volturi. As the vampires around the room began to spill the blood of more humans I found it increasingly difficult to suppress my vampiric instincts. Still gripping the smooth surface of the pillar and using every ounce of self-control I possessed, I moved so that the gruesome scene was hidden from my view. Unfortunately, it did not block the screams from my ears, piercing with my heightened senses. I felt weakened by the scent of the blood, as though I was not able to function correctly without it, like my existence depended on me drinking the blood at that moment.

And still the carnage continued.

It seemed to last an eternity. Only when the last of the screams was cut off with a gargled moan did I dare to breath. I could still smell the blood but it was much weaker than before. The revulsion still pounded within me, but it was second to a new feeling: triumph. I had resisted, I had buried my instincts in the time that they were strongest. A wide grin spread across my face as I realised how great a feat I had managed to achieve. I remembered the girl whose life I had ended not three days ago, recalling how hard her scent had hit me, how I had acted without a second thought. Today, I had realized what was happening before I had a chance to act. I shuddered to think what would have happened had the wind not blown through the room to clear my head in my time of need.

'Now, Isabella. Where were we?' Aro spoke from across the room, wiping the back of his right hand across his mouth to erase the remaining blood. 'Ah, yes. We are going away for a day or two,' he continued our earlier conversation before the massacre as though there had been no interruption. 'There has been a spot of bother over in Mexico City that needs our assessment. We will leave you in fine hands.' He paused to motion towards others standing around him. 'Please do not hesitate to ask for anything.'

_How about my freedom? _ I thought bitterly. _Would you grant me that?_

'Come,' he called, turning and heading for the door. I noticed that several people had donned cloaks, all in varying shades of gray. Demetri hurried forward – he also wore a cloak; a deep gray –, advancing on Aro and holding the darkest cloak of all: the deepest black.

'Master,' he said, bowing his head slightly as he handed Aro the cloak.

'Thank-you.' Aro nodded at Demetri before sweeping the cloak around him in one fluid movement.

'Are we leaving or would you like to converse with our hostage some more?' Caius appeared at the doorway, a look of pure hatred on his face as his eyes swept the scene, focusing on me for a fraction of a second.

'No, I'm ready. Shall we?' Aro asked, looking around at Jane. I felt a sense of relief as I realized she would not be staying. Jane took her brothers hand and followed Aro through the doorway. The doors swung closed as soon as they were through.

It was quiet for a moment and then there was movement to my left and suddenly my mother had me in a tight hug.

'Oh, honey!' she cried into my hair.

'Mom,' I said, patting her hair and automatically using parental names. I was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of grief; why had my mother had her life taken away so abruptly – it was cruel. Then a surge of hatred filled me with its boiling anger.

'When did they do this to you,' I growled through my clenched teeth, trying to get a hold on the vibrations shaking my frame.

'Oh, honey,' she repeated, hugging me tighter to her chest. 'Don't be sad for me, I'm fine, really,' she added as she saw the look of disbelief on my face.

'Then where's Dad? Is he OK? Or did you forget about him, too?' I shot back.

I'd asked the wrong question; a look of pain crossed her features and she was left unable to speak for a moment.

'He's – he's…'

_He's gone, _I heard her finish in her thoughts. She seemed incapable of voicing the last word.

A wave of anguish swept through me and ceased the tremors still trembling through my hands. It felt as though Alec had cut off my senses again – I couldn't feel any of my limbs, I couldn't think past the ache of losing part of myself. I was left broken with a torn heart, unable to comprehend what I had just learnt.

I placed a comforting hand on Mom's shoulder and then hugged her to my chest again.

'We'll get out of here, somehow,' I breathed in her ear, too quiet for any of the vampires around the edges of the turret to hear. I didn't add how slim I thought those chances were.


End file.
